War-Torn
by Goodalwayswins98
Summary: War-Torn: An American VRMMORPG taking place in a Fantasy World War II has just been released in Japan! Kirito and his friends hop into this new world where victory is earned through guns and guts rather than sword and shield. Join them in their new adventures alongside new friends and allies as they fight their way forward in War-Torn!
1. A new Game?

**Authors' note and disclaimer: This is a collab fic with SirStonewall. SAO and its characters don't belong to us but to Reki Kawahara. We are merely playing in the world he created. Stonewall and his crew belong to SirStonewall while the crew of "** _ **La Montréalaise"**_ **belong to me.**

 **Now that the boring part's over... enjoy our fic!**

 **Chapter one: A new game?**

 **November 5th 2026, 13:00**

The familiar sound of burning wood can be heard as the occupants of a small log cabin enjoy each other's company after another successful quest in ALO.

"Hey Asuna, how do you power-level your cooking? This food is amazing!" Agil asks, tearing a piece of meat off a pig on the center of the table. Other half empty side-dishes are around it with the others passing them around. "You could make a fortune if you opened up a restaurant."

"Trade secret! It loses its purpose if I start making it every day!" Asuna laughs back, nudging Kirito with a smile.

"Yeah, the value of the meal decreases if she makes it too often. Anyway, Why did you invite us all together Sinon?"

The blue-haired catgirl smiles and stands up, taking center stage. "I caught wind of an American Amusphere game being released in Japan. I wanted someone to try it with, and I got some promo codes with my game, so I was wondering if everyone wanted to join me."

"What's the game?" Klein asks with mild interest, looking over at her curiously.

"It's a new World War Two VR game called War-Torn. It's an open-world game that involves the entire globe, including Antarctica!"

"Sinonon, that's… not really our type of game…" Asuna points out shyly.

"It's got fantasy elements, including stuff like werewolves, kobolds, and basically all the stuff from ALO." Sinon explains calmly, "There's also some kind of XP and money bonus if we join as a group."

Agil had a hand on his chin, looking deep in thought and nostalgia. He let out a small sigh.

"You know what? I'm in!" he declares with a smile much to the surprise of everyone. Sinon has a small smile at this.

A rather curious Klein scratches his chin in curiosity.

"How come man?" he asks with a puzzled look.

Agil let a small chuckle as he crosses his arms. The older man grins as he remembers a story.

"That's because of one of my first games I ever played was Battlefield 1942 back in 2003. It was the first open FPS where you had to really rely on your teammates as well as your own skill." he recounts, "Granted, it's pretty simple compared to what we have today in VRFPS's and FPS but I had alot of fun with my friends back then."

'Yeah… I think I heard about that game when I was a kid." Klein says finally. ''Came out when I was a baby though."

Agil sighs in annoyance before glaring at Klein.

"Man, you're makin' me feel old now."

The Salamander player merely chuckles at this as he reclines back in his chair.

"Not my fault old man but I'm in… can't let grandpa here have all the fun."

The group laughs at Agil's expense, and Kirito stands with a smile clears his throat once everyone quiets down. "Well, it's worth a try. If I don't like it I can come back to ALO," he says casually, "Besides, I had fun in GGO as well"

"If Kirito is going, then I will too." Asuna says, hugging Kirito's arm possessively, "Besides, it could be an interesting challenge."

"Well, I'll give it a try. I think we need a change of scenery." Liz confirms, "What about you Silica?"

"If you're going then Pina and I are too!" she exclaims energetically, "It'll be lonely if I stay here by myself."

"What about the language barrier? Only Kirito, Asuna, and Agil speak English." Leafa asks.

"There's an auto-translator, so we'll all understand the Americans." Sinon explains, "According to the reviews, they've put in a lot of effort and time to make it work right. That's what delayed the Japanese release for awhile."

"Then I'm in!"

The discussion quickly set around setting the rendez-vous time the gang would have before entering War-Torn.

Upon loading in, Everyone finds themselves on docks, with cargo ships towering above them, and cranes cargo nets of crates. In front of them, a sign sits above a gate. Taking a look at each other, the friends noticed that they wore simple olive drab uniforms and had the same caps on their head.

 **WELCOME TO ANTWERP**

Everywhere around them, they could see players milling around. Dressed in various uniforms and carrying Second World War equipment of various nationalities, it was like watching a war movie. Loud rumbling could be heard as well as a column of tanks drove down the road nearby followed by trucks filled with other players. There are a few clouds in the sky but the sun shines brightly.

"Wow, this is… amazing!" Sinon cheers, looking around, "Look at all these players!"

Everyone looked around and could see avatars everywhere.

"Just how many players are on this game exactly?" asks Kirito in amazement, "Awesome!"

There was a small shriek of surprise.

"PINA!?"

Turning their heads over they find Silica staring at a German Sheppard, which is doing its best to lick her face. Taking looks at each other, they quickly realize how different their War-Torn avatars from their ALO ones.

"Aww man, my hair," bemoans Klein as he notices how his usually long red hair was now short like a soldier's, "I like terrible now."

"As if you ever looked good," mutters Agil. His appearance mirrors his real one life body. Tall, muscular and bald, the main difference is that he doesn't have a goatee yet. Meanwhile, Kirito blows a sigh of relief.

"At least I look more soldierish now," he whispers, hoping no-one hears. While physically not imposing, Kirito's avatar looks more masculine than his old GGO one. His hair is neatly cut while his height and width are quite average.

Unfortunately, Sinon hears his whisper.

"This time, you won't be tricking players into thinking you're a girl," she hisses. Meanwhile Asuna glares at Kirito.

"What exactly did you do in that game Kirito?"

Kirito suddenly gets a nervous look on his face while Sinon smiles evilly.

"Your boyfriend here showed in GGO looking rather quite feminine. All the males players thought he was rather cute." she explains with an evil voice. Her friend picks up her tone.

"Is that so Sinonon?" Asuna replies with a smirk on her face while Kirito squirms nervously, "Do you think his GGO avatar would look good in a dress?"

The BoB champion smirks and nods.

"Perhaps we should check it out next time we can but you look pretty good though Asuna," she comments. The former Undine sports a bun of strawberry blond hair on her head. It seems that the girls all have the same haircut though Liz and Sinon no longer have their dyed hair colour from ALO. Instead, they sport their natural brown colour though Leafa still has her golden blond hair. The kendo champion pouts a bit though.

"I liked having my long hair."

Asuna nods at this. For as long as she could remember, she always had long hair. It was a different sensation. Kirito notices her expression and smiles.

" I think it looks good on you."

Asuna blushes before thanking him while Liz, Leafa and Silica roll their eyes.

"I don't think we look so bad at all," Silica comments enthusiastically as she pets Pina. The girls nod in approval while the boys don't say anything, preferring to look around.

"Well isn't this fine and dandy," remarks Agil, "But anyone has any idea where we can get some weapons?"

"Now that you've mentioned it… huh," Klein replies.

Everyone else shakes their heads, just as a fully-kitted out, older soldier, easily identifiable as an NPC, walks up to them.

"Howdy everyone!" greets the NPC in a booming voice, "I'm Sergeant Barnes, and you must be the new replacements from Stateside!"

Before anyone can reply, Barnes continues his little speech. Agil recognizes the familiar Texan accent.

"So welcome to Antwerp, Belgium. Frontline's 'bout fifty miles thataway." He points in the general direction of the sign. "You won't kill anyone with kindness so the nearest supply depot is thataway. You should be able to requisition some weapons. The enemy submarines haven't been as active, so guns are easier to come by for the next couple days."

A pop up suddenly appears in front of them.

 **Welcome to War-Torn!**

 **To celebrate our first anniversary and our Japanese release,**

 **All weapons and gear are on discount!**

 **This discount also applies to the new platoons and companies discount!**

"Wow, they really want to encourage the new players and guilds!" exclaims Asuna while Agil let out a whistle.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Liz says excitedly, "Let's get ourselves some weapons."

Everyone nods in approval. As they made their way, it became obvious that the release was popular as they could see the lineup at the supply depot.

"Holy shit, they weren't kidding when they said the release was a big one." Klein says while letting out a whistle.

Leafa has a worried look on her face as she eyes the line.

"I hope they don't run out of weapons for everyone."

The rumbling of tank engines in the distance gets progressively louder until three mud-covered tanks roll into view, parking off the the side of the supply depot, and multiple players climbing out of them. They talk to their crew mates before everyone heads off.

"You fucking idiot! How could you just leave your Thompson!?" One of them shouts. The player being a tall, redhaired and muscular man.

"Bro… fucking 109's strafed it off!" replies the other, "Fucking shot off the damn thing from the turret roof. Besides where the fuck were the flyboys!"

This player is slightly shorter and slimmer. Black hair and glasses framed his clearly oriental face with large front teeth.

"Anyhow Stonewall," he continues in a calmer tone, "Last missions gave us a lot of Requisition points."

He looks at the line in annoyance.

"Yeah, no kidding. I was hoping on spending some of that on a new Deuce. Mine's all worn out."

His friend scoffs.

"Freaking griffins don't know when to give up." says Stonewall as the two get in the line behind Kirito and his friends.

"Griffins!?" Leafa exclaims while the others look at the two men. They notice that both had the same style of uniforms and logos on them. They also both have holsters on their waists with identical pistols. Both turn their attention to her.

"Yeah, that shit was like hunting pigs in Texas! Too many targets, not enough bullets!" remarks Stonewall.

"Stonewall here likes hunting big game eh."

The red-haired player looks over at the group, then approaches. "Howdy y'all. Wanna skip the line?"

"You can skip the line?!" Liz asks impatiently.

"Not at this one, but the depot in Brussels doesn't have a line, ever."

Kirito looks at them thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that sounds a little too good to be true. Are you two trying to PK us or something?"

Stonewall simply shrugs and turns away. "Not my thing. But if y'all wanna wait here then that's fine."

"Besides," adds the other player, "You can't PK fellow Alliance players outside of battles and even there, it's friendly fire more than anything." he shudders briefly before continuing, "Since you guys spawned here, you're on our side for the rest of the game."

"And, we need infantry for when we head out to the front lines. You guys get experience and credits, and we get protection. Win-win." Stonewall follows up.

". . . Alright we'll go with you." Asuna says confidently, following after Stonewall.

"Right this way ladies and gentlemen. The front two are the most spacious. The hellcat is a smoother ride though." The redhead replies, motioning for the newbies to follow him and his partner. They all start behind him, and the other player opens his mouth to say something just as the howling of sirens starts up around the town.

"Air raid! Mount up!" Stonewall yells, breaking into a run. Other players start yelling and shouting as well. He bounds up to the center tank and jumps up onto it, raising a large machine gun into firing position. The other players run to cover or to their vehicles. Weapons fire can be heard as well as tracers begin streaking through the skies and small explosions resonate above the city. Low droning sounds that slowly grow louder fill the player's ears. Panicked gunshots start filling the air as new players start firing at the sky while the more experienced ones try to get them to stop.

Everyone runs over, and sits where instructed as the tanks all roar to life. Pina and Silica sit atop the turret of the first tank, with the tall oriental commander readying a similar gun atop his tank and barking commands into a handset.

"Nguyen, let's get the hell out of here!" Stonewall yells, spurring the front tank into motion. "Rift, get your ass to Brussels! We'll meet you there!"

"Got it! Try not to die!" A third player yells from atop the third tank, which accelerates past and out of sight.

"Eight o'clock! Stukas!" A female player yells from inside the open-topped turret of Stonewall's tank. The player charges his gun and looks back at the newbies riding on his tank, pulling a rifle from the turret and selecting Sinon. "You look like you might be familiar around one of these."

"Y-yeah, what do you want me to do with it?"

"When those planes fly over shoot at them. Lead 'em and try to hit the engine." He responds as they roar through the semi-destroyed suburbs. "We can't actually fire at them until we get out of town though- Nguyen drive faster Dammit!"

His friend yells into his handset, urging his crew to push their tank faster. It picks up speed faster. Large explosions echo around them and shake the ground beneath them as the flashes light up buildings behind them. The sound of falling masonry can be heard as the tanks dash through the streets of Antwerp. Leaders yell orders and commands to their teams, trying to reduce confusion and casualties. Cries for medics can also be heard while players drag their wounded teammates to safety. Chaotic can only be the right word to describe the situation.

"Let's head to the fast travel!" Nguyen yells back, earning a nod of approval. A sharp right turn at a street corner and they rumble to a stop on the teleport pad.

"Teleport, Brussels!"

In a flash of blue they appear in the center of a city square, everyone looking significantly more relaxed. Taking in their surroundings, the group notice just how different Brussels is from Antwerp. The city square is a lot less busy than the one at Antwerp with less players around. However, the players here look dirtier and warier here. Their uniforms and gear look well-worn and their weapons look like they've seen combat. In the distance, faint explosions and droning can be heard. The city also looks like it's been hit harder by war. There are scorch marks and some buildings appear to have been damaged with their roofs caved in. Small craters and burnt out vehicles mark the streets here and there.

"Sorry 'bout that y'all. Nguyen, let's head to the supply depot and get your dumb ass a new Thompson. Then we can get the newbies geared up and we can hit the Liege boneyard for some spare parts."

"Man, why not just get spare parts here?"

"I'm not spending an outrageous amount of money for a new main gun telescope when I can get one for free!" Stonewall snaps back before looking down the road and groaning, then looking back at Kirito and his group. "Oh god, here comes the wehraboos. Don't look at 'em."

"Wehraboo?"

"Oh great… it's the guys from Grauerwolf Kompanie" mutters Nguyen as he puts a hand on his forehead, hiding one of his eyes. Agil rolls his eyes while everyone from his original group look at the arriving column in curiosity.

Martial music can be heard playing. It didn't sound like English or Japanese. The approaching group of players wear matching green uniforms with identical steel helmets and are accompanied by two large brownish tanks. Their weapons are slung over their elbows as they parade into the town.

" _Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein..."_ sing the grey uniformed soldiers as they march by the supply depot.

"Who are those guys?" asks Klein in curiosity, "They look really well organized."

The column is almost out of sight now.

"Yeah those were the Grey Wolf guys," explains Nguyen, "They're one of the well known companies. They use only "top of the line" German gear." he adds with a mocking tone.

"They any good though?" Kirito asks curiously as he sees them disappear from his sight.

"They're alright. They think German gear is the best. People think of 'em as a bit of a joke though." Stonewall adds.

"Yeah well, let's just say the reliability stat makes using German kit a bit more difficult. That and some of them think that gear'll alone make you invincib-" Nguyen rants before being cut off by his friend.

"Ignoring mocking the idiots. Let's go. Rest of the company should be getting back from Aachen soon, then there''ll be a line." Stonewall continues, shutting off his tank and climbing off.

"Smart idea," replies his friend before yelling into his tank, "Right gang! We're hopping off!" Shortly after, he hops off of his tank.

The other hatches on the tank then open and reveal a rather motley tank crew. From the hatch where Nguyen was sitting, there was another player with short, light brown hair and a rather serious look emerging from the tank. His face is covered in sweat and dust while his well-worn uniform sports the same logo as Stonewall and Nguyen.

"Finally!" he exclaims before letting out a breath, "Feels good to be outside of the tin can. So who are these guys you and Stonewall have been talking to?" he asks.

"New people from Antwerp Roscoe!" shouts Stonewall.

"Oh new players man?" the crewman named Roscoe as he wipes sweat from his brow says before he turns to Kirito and his friends with a welcoming smile, "Welcome to War-Torn."

Next to him, another hatch opens and reveals another, shorter but broad shouldered player. Short black hair, round face and a well groomed beard, his relaxed air seems to clash with their surroundings.

"Hey hey! Welcome to War-Torn!" he exclaims, "I'm Tony." he adds with a smile before getting off.

"Thanks!" replies in chorus the former ALO players. They also get a good look at the other members of the crew.

The two that come from the front hatches of the tank both sport scruffy beards and are the same size. However, one has brown hair and blue eyes along with a longer beard. His long, messy hair spills out from under his pilot's cap. He wears a well worn leather jacket, but his most distinctive feature is his scowling face.

"Yo," he grunts as he stretches himself before sitting down in front of the tank.

His friend next to him has black hair and a better groomed beard. Wearing a uniform similar to Nguyen and Stonewall, his shirt is unbuttoned, revealing a sweat covered t-shirt.

"Hey man," he groans between breaths, "Can you give us some warning before we take off like that? That's not good for the engine."

"Bastard here's right," groans the other one next to him as he leans his head on the tank, "I could feel the transmission and powerpack wearing out."

"Lou, Dick, Stukas cramming bombs down our hatches also aren't good for the tank, so pick one." Stonewall snaps back, leading the way into the supply depot. "Plus it's not a Panther, you can be rough with it, and if it breaks we can have the thing fixed in a couple hours."

"Whatever," groans Dick lazily, "Have fun fixing it while we're getting shot at."

Nguyen facepalms at this.

"Hey, it's your tank. Lady Ari's and mine is in perfect condition. Speaking of which, hey Ari! You need anything?!"

"More AP! Maybe a couple high-velocity rounds!" A brunette girl yells back with an Australian accent, sitting on the gun mantlet of Stonewall's tank. Meanwhile, Nguyen and his crew are inspecting their tank.

"Got it! Check fluids please!"

"Will do!"

Stonewall continues into the supply depot, walking up to an NPC supply clerk behind a counter and opening a menu, muttering to himself. "Couple cans of fifty… two boxes of ninety AP… A new tanker bar… a box of APCR… more Garand ammo… and… I'm done."

"Alrighty my turn!" exclaims a voice next to him. Nguyen had made his way up to the counter while his friend was requisitioning new stuff. "I'll take a M1A1 Thompson and a sling for it please."

The NPC seems annoyed at his request and crosses his arms. The clerk is not happy seeing him again.

"Again sir?" it asks. "That's the second time this month."

"Oy… yeah. 109's. Just gimme my gun alright?" he answers with the same deadpan expression. Behind him, he can hear snickering from some of the new players.

The NPC merely sighs, picks up a Thompson from atop a crate, and puts it on the counter. The tank commander sees a confirmation box appear in front of him. He sighs and confirms the trade before picking it up.

"God I missed having one of these with me," Nguyen says wistfully as he racks the bolt and looks down sights, "Feels like my old one!"

"Don't lose this one and you won't have to miss having it." Stonewall teases before looking at Kirito and smiling. "Alrighty, let's get y'all set up."

"I don't think we got your names though," Nguyen remarks, "I'm Nguyen and this is Stonewall if you haven't caught on."

The former ALO players all bow and begin introducing themselves.

"I'm Kirito and this is my girlfriend Asuna." Kirito says casually with a smile pointing to his group, "These our friends from ALO."

"I'm Agil." the dark skinned man says in a deep voice.

"Klein, good to meet you guys."

"Oh I'm Leafa."

"I'm Sinon," says cooly the girl.

"I'm Liz," happily says the brunette.

"I'm Silica and this is Pina."

The small girl introduces herself with enthusiasm before happily pointing to her dog. The two tank commanders proceed to shake hands with the group of newcomers.

"Pleasure to meet you all." Stonewall says before stepping on top of a crate. "Before we get you guys weapons I should probably explain how certain class buffs work. If you have full kit for a certain class you'll get an experience boost, and your mastery for your weapons will increase faster. All of us that you've seen so far are in the 'tanker' class. Our vehicle mastery is increased drastically, but on foot we suffer from an experience decrease. Standard riflemen are the most well-rounded, with a medium range rifle. Assaulters carry SMG's, Machinegunners… pretty self explanatory. Medics get a slight combat penalty but get to use better medical kits and gain more exp when healing. Y'all are gonna want someone with a machine-gun, a couple people with rifles, and a couple people with SMG's or shotguns. You'll want Anti-Tank weapons, and I'd recommend having an engineer."

Stonewall looks back at the NPC. "Is the gun range open for test trials?"

"Yes it is. Head straight in."

"Cheers." Stonewall grunts before turning back to the new players. "Follow me."

"Time to hone some of my SMG skills," Nguyen says with a smile with his Thompson slung on his shoulder, "It's been awhile since I've shot one."

"Hone them? You mean you had skill in the first place?" Stonewall teases.

His friend chuckles.

"I still remember that time with the kobolds in Reims. You weren't talking so tough buddy."

Kirito listened to their banter with a smile. It seems that these two were good friends in the VR world and fought many battles alongside each other.

"That sounds like an interesting story," Klein says with a hint of curiosity.

"We were chasing after a company of tanks for a bounty, they led us into a thick bit of forest, and next thing I know there's a half dozen kobolds on my tank alone." Stonewall grumbles.

The Vietnamese player smirks.

"For some unknown reason, we didn't get kobolds jumping on my tank so I swing the MG and hose down the lizards without hitting Stonewall. I blast one of 'em right before it rips his head off."

"And because of that there was dings all over my tank because of him. Dude couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from the inside with the doors closed."

Sinon burst out in laughter before asking a question.

"How far were you two anyways?"

"Ehhhh….not sure" Nguyen answers hesitantly.

"'Bout fifty meters."

Sinon laughs even more at this while her friends look at her in curiosity.

"Fifty meters and you still manage to miss them?!" she exclaims, "I used to hit targets at 1500 meters in Gun Gale Online."

"Hey hey… it was fucking dark ok?" defends the redfaced tank commander, "It was either that or Stonewall here becoming lizard food."

Kirito has a thoughtful look during the whole exchange. ' _What did they mean by bounties?'_

"Excuses dude. You just need more practice." Stonewall chuckles, picking up a rifle and walking up to the firing line. He raises it to his shoulder and fires eight rounds in rapid succession, drilling the bullseye eight times. "Still got it."

Sinon can't help but be impressed at this feat. Nguyen has taken position next to them and is let off small bursts of fire. His shots are less accurate however missing a few more times than Stonewall.

"Say… does this game have sniper classes?" she asks.

"They've got sniper rifles yeah. Right over here..." Stonewall clears the empty rifle and puts it back, grabbing a scoped rifle off a rack and passing it to her. "M1903 Springfield."

The GGO sniper starts getting a feel of the weapon.

' _Lighter than Hecate II'_ she muses as she holds the rifle. Looking down the scope, she notices that it's a much simpler than what she used in GGO. ' _Bolt's smoother as well though it's a bit like the FR F2.'_ she thinks as she pulls the bolt back.

"Feel free to take a few shots with it. If you don't like it there's plenty more to choose from. Keep in mind you won't be hitting stuff at a klick out."

Sinon steps up to the line of sandbags and rolls the bolt closed, bringing it up to her shoulder as she braces herself. When she puts her finger on the trigger she pauses, not finding a bullet line. Then she slowly lets out her breath and lines up on the target, squeezing the trigger when her lungs bottom out.

The sharp crack of the rifle rings out, and she works the bolt again, repeating the motion four more times before handing it back. The others sport a mix of surprise, awe and dread. "It's a good rifle, but is there anything heavier?"

"Yup there is," Nguyen reports before adding a comment, "Miss Sinon, I hope you can keep an eye on your six. With skill like that, you'll probably end up with a bounty on your head."

"I'll admit ma'am, it's not every day that a new player drills the bull with every shot on their first time." Stonewall chuckles, looking at the target 300 yards away through a pair of binoculars.

"Hey what's this talk with bounties?" Kirito asks abruptly. It intrigued him greatly.

"Sometimes very skilled players are marked out by the enemy commander for their skill and the trouble they caused. When this happens, and if this happens repeatedly, you get an ever increasing bounty on your head." Stonewall explains.

Nguyen adds in his two cents.

"So when we were talking about the Reims thing, we were chasing a platoon of enemy Tiger tanks." he recounts, "Fucking bastards gave us a lot of grief during an assault when they somehow snuck behind our lines and just smashed through our rear before getting away scot-free. Commander was livid that day."

"Of course he'd be livid, one of them crushed his personal, fully custom jeep, and half of our company. They also stopped our attack for weeks," Stonewall grumbles. "Even the flyboys had trouble hunting them down, and on our way back from chasing them the damn bridge blew up just as the enemy started an offensive."

Kirito looked deep in thought at this while Leafa's ears perk up during this story.

"So you get penalties if you get too good for everyone?" he asks, "Isn't that punishment for being skilled?"

"Don't think of it like that. Think of it more like a badge of honor and skill. I've got a slight bounty, but this schmuck usually gets his tank knocked out before he gets that far."

Nguyen rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Whatever… some players like to show off to their team that they have high bounties. It's great for your own morale when the guys next to you keep getting higher bounties and survive the enemy's every attempts at collecting it. Not to mention that it's a way of knowing one's skill." he explains, "It's also intimidating facing people that have regularly survived being hunted with everything an alliance has."

Kirito gets an evil smile on his face as he understands the implications.

"I like this system, makes things a bit more challenging and interesting." he says with a hand on his chin.

"You said something about 'flyboys', does that mean you can fly in this game?" Leafa asks.

"Yeah, planes are kinda expensive, but if you've got the fuel you can go basically anywhere." Stonewall replies, opening up a wooden crate and pulling out a massive gun. At the same time, Nguyen approaches Klein and Agil who were looking at the various weapons on the rack.

"So what about you two? Any weapons you like?"

"I don't know yet but Grandpa here looks like the type of fellow that needs something big." Klein says teasingly with Agil glaring at him. The Oriental player looks at the dark skinned man for a moment.

"He has a point… maybe try out the BAR 1918 or the M1919A6 man?" Nguyen says as he points the two weapons. Both were big guns though the 1918 had a box magazine and looked like a big rifle. The M1919A6 was a machine gun complete with an ammo belt and and a bipod. Agil muses for a second before answering.

"I'm gonna give both a try and see what I think man."

He heads over and picks up the BAR. Nguyen turns his attention to Klein who was still eyeing the weapon rack.

"What about you Klein?"

"Hmmph, got anything I can get close and personal with?" he wonders.

"Thompson's always a good choice and you'd probably be able to control the recoil on that thing. Here, have a shot with mine." Nguyen suggests before reloading his weapon and handing it to the redhead.

As Klein steps up to the firing line beside Agil, Stonewall hefts the large rifle and places it by the sandbags. "Hey Sinon, you wanted bigger? This is the only thing I can think of that isn't absurdly heavy."

The sniper walks over to it and lifts it up, her eyes lighting up at the weight. Before she sets the bipod down on the sandbags and takes a magazine from Stonewall.

"Fifty-five caliber Boyes Anti-Tank rifle. Any larger than this and you won't be able to carry it."

Sinon loads the magazine in and works the bolt, aiming at one of the targets. The loud thud of her rifle joins in with the cacophony of automatic fire from Klein and Agil, and a new, very large hole opens up in the far target, right in the head.

"I like it. Would it be possible to get this one and a lighter one?"

"You don't start with enough requisition points. There's some semi-auto rifles over here if you want to try those."

"No thanks, I'll take the Springfield then." Sinon replies, unloading the rifle before returning it to the gun rack.

Stonewall hands her the Springfield and points back towards the supply tent. "Get your rifle, and then have Aria help you get your kit."

Sinon nods and walks off, past Klein and Nguyen, who are wrestling over the Thompson. Agil returns the 1918 and looks at the rack, grabbing a MG42 and heading back to the firing line as Stonewall looks at the remaining people.

"Say…. Silica, There's a rifle that'll fit you perfectly." He mumbles, picking up a rather small rifle and passing it to her. "M1 Carbine. Lightweight, small, reliable, with low recoil and moderate stopping power. Give it a try at the range."

"Sure thing!" She skips over to the firing line, with Pina close at her side, and starts firing at a target as Stonewall motions Liz forward.

"I want to be an engineer, what's a good rifle?"

"Ehhh.. How about the M1 Garand. Same rifle I use." Stonewall replies, handing her the rifle and motioning towards the firing line. Then he looks over at Nguyen and Klein, and picks up a nearby helmet, throwing it and perfectly drilling the Oriental tanker in the head.

"WHAT THE HELL MAN?!" he shouts before turning back to Klein, "GIMME BACK MY THOMPSON! THERE'S A BUNCH OF THEM OVER THERE!"

"Quit dicking around and help me get their weapons sorted out!" Stonewall yells at him before sighing and looking at Leafa. "Rifle or SMG?"

A crash is heard and both Klein and Nguyen are on the ground, the latter still holding his gun preciously while the former grumbles and heads to the supply tent.

Nguyen gets back up and cracks his shoulders.

"Man, I wouldn't want to get in a scrap with him."

Leafa looks back at Stonewall and stutters for a second before answering. "Ehh rifle please."

Stonewall picks up a Garand and hands it to her, motioning her towards the firing line before looking at Kirito. "How about you?"

"Rifle, something practical and compact. Also, are there any swords?"

"M1A1 Carbine it is, and yeah, there's a katana, but I'd rely on your guns if I were you." Stonewall replies, passing the rifle to him. "Katana's over at the bayonet range, we'll go there once everyone gets their kit."

"Seriously man," the other tank commander adds, "Katana's just sniper bait out there."

Kirito smiles before talking in a confident voice.

"Don't worry I'll be fine!"

"If you say so man," Nguyen says, "Good luck to you. What about your girlfriend?"

Asuna walks up last. "I want to be a healer- er… medic."

"SMG it is. Something small… Thompson. Drum mag, or no?"

"What's a drum mag?" Asuna asks, and Stonewall picks up a large round magazine, as well as the standard Thompson stick magazine.

"This big thing is a drum mag. Holds 100 instead of 30."

"Oh, sure."

One by one everyone tries out their weapons and heads over to the supply tent, and Klein comes back in full kit. "I was told to get an anti-tank weapon."

Stonewall walks over to the heavier weapons and retrieves a familiar weapon. "M18 recoilless rifle. 57mm shell, you can carry five rounds at a time. Do, not, miss."

Nguyen raises an eyebrow at this.

"Why'd she tell you to get an AT weapon?"

"Because they don't have any, and if we get knocked out then they're SOL." Stonewall retorts.

His friend raises his shoulders.

"Makes sense."

"Hey Stonewall! The company is back from Aachen!" Aria yells, walking over with the freshly-kitted ALO players. 'Company commander wants to talk to you."

"Ah shit, alright. Get these guys some practice. I'll be back in a bit."

"Right!" Nguyen answers back before turning to the ALO group, "So anyone here ever play anything in VR with guns in it or...?"

Everyone except for Kirito and Sinon shake their heads. The tank commander's jaw drops.

"Okay, this'll be a new experience for all of you guys… and a new one for me as I have never taught that many people how to shoot a weapon in one go," he states before looking at Kirito and Sinon, "What did you two play though?"

"GGO," the girl answers, "We played together a few times and I'm the top sniper."

A sigh of relief as Nguyen relaxes a bit.

"I played GGO abit so the mechanics are similar," he says, "Except there's no bullet lines here. What about you Kirito? You were any good with a gun in that game?"

"Nah, I did good with a photon sword though," he says casually, "I think I fired my pistol twice."

Sinon nods to confirm.

"I noticed that. If anything it's a different way of playing."

"Indeed. What about IRL? Any experience?"

Sinon looks nervous for a moment but Nguyen realizes something.

"Wait a minute… you guys are all from the Japanese release right?"

Everyone nods.

"Yeah, ok the IRL question was kinda dumb. You guys have even less access to guns than us Canadians."

The sniper eases herself a bit while everyone tries to process the player's comment.

"So you're Canadian?" asks Leafa with interest.

"Yup, from Quebec but that's besides the point." Nguyen says before explaining, "So basically, you shoulder your weapons like this..."

A half hour later the ALO players have a good understanding of how their weapons work. THey all are reliably hitting targets, and Aria has even joined in, helping Silica learn to give Pina commands.

"Gather 'round everyone! Newbies, y'all get your first mission!" Stonewall cheers, walking over with a map in hand. Everyone forms a circle around him

"What's the situation man?" asks the Canadian with interest as he adjusts his Thompson's sling.

"Buildup of troops around Aachen. Most likely a counterattack. We're gonna go and help the battered bastards hold the town."

"What kind of enemies are we expecting?" Kirito wonders. His face looks deeply concentrated.

"Infantry, both players and AI. There's supposed to be some panzer divisions in the area, but nothing too heavy. Unless there's a super-heavy we'll be able to deal with them."

Asuna raises her hand as well.

"Do we know if there's a lot of casualties there?"

"All casualties were brought back when the armor came back to resupply, but there might be some guys that are a bit roughed up. They were hearing artillery as they left."

"Not to mention that there could be spoiling raids against Aachen," adds Agil with his arms crossed, "It'd be a good way to drain the defenders' strength."

Everyone nods in approval. Softening up the enemy before an assault was something useful in any game.

"What's left of the Wehraboos will be joining us." Stonewall grumbles. "The Fifth Panzer Abteilung or whatever the fuck they call themselves. We move out in ten, so grab extra ammo and mount up."

The former ALO players look at the two North Americans with a puzzling look..

"Oh dear lord… let's hope they're not as bad as the 8th Panzergrenadiers." Nguyen remarks snidely while rolling his eyes before muttering curse words under his breath.

"No kidding. Quit standing around or we'll be late!"

The Canadian player heads over to his tank and climbs aboard. "Alright, ladies and gents, you can fetch a ride on our tanks until we reach Liege. Hop on!"

He quickly gets inside his vehicle and quickly talks with his crew about the readiness of their tank before popping out with his crew to fetch some extra supplies.

As they load up Klein sits on the gun mantlet of Stonewall's tank and looks down at Aria, who's sitting in the gunner's seat. "So uh, Aria, the name's Klein. I'm 26 and single."

"Nice to meet you Klein, I'm twenty and engaged to Stonewall." she says with a smile. _'Nice try dumbass...Get rekt.'_

The man's face drops.

"Ah, euh sorry but euh, nevermind," he stammers before moving away awkwardly.

"Hey Von Dipshit! We ready to fucking go or what!?" Stonewall yells at one of the other tank commanders.

"Almost!" replies the player with an irritated tone.

"Hurry up! We don't have all day!"

Stonewall's radio crackles to life.

{Comms check Stonewall!} calls out his Canadian friend.

"Good check, loud and clear. What's your status?"

{We're all ready here man! _La Montréalaise_ is good to go!} Nguyen reports enthusiastically, {Everything's stowed properly and all our passengers are good to go.}

"Roger that. We're rolling out. Fuck waiting for these guys." answers the American with enthusiasm.

{Knowing their reliability stats... and how most wehrbs don't bother with maintenance, they'll slow us down with engine fires and broken transmissions} chuckles his friend over the comms. Stonewall's tank leads his platoon's column and the commander takes a quick look at Nguyen's M4A2 tank. His crew rode turned out and are enjoying conversation with Agil, Silica, Klein and Leafa who have their weapons slung on their shoulders and their helmets are clipped to their gear. Pina sits on the turret roof between Tony and Nguyen. It appears that everyone's having good time swapping VR stories.

On Stonewall's M36B1 Asuna, Kirito, and Sinon all talk with the commander and gunner.

"So how did you guys end up with this tank?" Sinon asks, watching the AI loader stand idly.

"Oh, Nguyen drove the last one into a tank ditch and got it stuck. We couldn't get it out, so I got a new tank, and made him get his own." Stonewall replies with a grin.

"Is he really that bad of a player?" Asuna asks.

"Oh no, he's just got bad luck. He tried to dodge a hedgehog tank trap and drove straight into the ditch. Don't tell him I said that though, he still thinks he's got good luck."

"How can he possibly think he's got good luck?" Sinon asks, looking surprised. What kind of a person thinks like that?

"He thinks he's got good luck because we didn't get shot by the anti-tank gun hidden up the road." Stonewall explains as their tank drove through on the road. The ride is fairly smooth and comfortable for the ALO players.

Around them are lush green fields with the occasional farm here and there. Sometimes, there are burned out hulks of vehicles and planes littering the ground along with craters that scar the land. A light breeze blows through while there's not a single cloud in the sky.

"That's one way of thinking," Kirito comments as he looks around him and scans for anything unusual. Things are quiet so far.

"Course, he's also the kind of guy that thinks things can always get worse." Aria says, shaking her head.

"So how'd you all meet?" asks Asuna curiously, "Was it in VR or IRL?"

"That's… a story for another day."

 **Authors' endnote: We hope you enjoyed our writing. Please drop us a review telling us what you think and what to improve.** **Until next time.**

 **Goodalwayswins98 and SirStonewall**


	2. To the Front!

**Authors' note and disclaimer: This is a collab fic with SirStonewall. SAO and its characters don't belong to us but to Reki Kawahara. We are merely playing in the world he created. Stonewall and his crew belong to SirStonewall while the crew of "** _ **La Montréalaise"**_ **belong to me.**

 **Clarifications on War-Torn. Essentially, the starting system of this game serves to make sure that older players interact with newer players, and help increase the amount of possibilities available to the player. It also allows players to play exactly how they want to play this by allowing them to mix and match gear to their playstyle and preferences, as well as not locking the player into a certain 'class' for the entirety of their game experience. Buffs are proportional to the amount of kit used from one nation. This, combined with the majority of players wanting to play as historically accurate as possible, means that most will stick to a single nation for their kit however.**

 **Thanks to all those who reviewed our first chapter.**

 **We hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as we had writing it.**

 **Chapter 2: To The Front!**

"Alright people. We're about fifteen minutes early. Gather 'round." Stonewall orders once they pull into a defensive position with their weapons slung to them. The group is currently in the northern part of Aachen. Around them are battle scarred ruins that are still smoking, evidence of recent battle. Craters litter the streets while fallen rubble and man-made obstacles occupy every street corner. Their tanks are sheltered behind destroyed houses and piles of debris while their commanders and their support infantry in the nearby backyard of a ruined house. The midday sun was hidden behind a cloudy sky. Other players and NPC patrol the surrounding areas with weapons in hand and weary eyes. Some bear bandages on them, indicating recent and constant battles with little rest.

"Here's the deal. We're obviously on the front line, but let me help you understand the bigger picture. Way down in the south, start at Bordeaux, then draw a line up to Orléans. Then Chaumont, up to Luxembourg, and then Aachen, where we are now. Further to the north, up to Eindhoven, then Amsterdam. That's the front lines. Any further east from those points, and you'll hit hard contact."

"Okay… what about here? Do you have a map of Aachen?" Sinon asks, holding her Springfield by her side.

"I do." Stonewall responds, shuffling his maps around. "The enemy counterattack is expected to come from the northeast and southeast. We've got engineers laying mines along those approaches, and there's already mines in the forest to the east. I understand you see yourself as a sniper, but stay out of the church bell tower. That'll be the first thing they hit."

Nguyen snorts at this remark.

"Church towers tend to be the first thing they obliterate if they can."

Sinon simply nods with a steely, knowing gaze.

"Alright, anything else we should know?" Kirito asks, scrutinizing the map.

"Yeah. If this defensive line falls you might as well get out of town. We've got a gun battery in position to the west. Meet up with them if we get knocked out, or just head to Liege."

"So where should we deploy?"

"Around our two tanks. If we need to go somewhere else in a hurry I can't be running around trying to find you. Find places with good solid cover, and get dug in, especially you Agil. Any other questions?" Stonewall replies, looking around before nodding in satisfaction. "Good. Let's give 'em hell!"

As the briefing ends, everyone enthusiastically yell their excitement, Nguyen nods in approval but he quickly notices something as he looks at the new party.

"Hey, what's your dog's name again?" he asks Silica politely.

"Pina, why?" she answers with a smile while playing with her familiar. The Canadian's eyes seem to shift as he slowly realizes something.

"You do know that Pina has skills that she can level up right?" he says with a hand on his chin. The other tank commander looks at the girl and her dog with an idea in his head, "Players with dog handling skills are rare as hell."

"Hey Silica, open up Pina's skills menu. I've only ever seen one dog like that before…"

The girl does as she is told and her face lights up with smile. She sees a rather elaborate menu appear with various skills and stats.

"Whoa, look at all this," she says enthusiastically, "Pina has so many skills unlocked!"

Stonewall looks over her shoulder and stiffens. "Jesus Christ! Almost everything is level seven!"

His friend's jaw drops and his eyes widen at this.

"Wait what?!" he exclaims, "How long have you had her before getting here?"

The former ALO players look at their new friends in curiosity.

"Over two years," she shyly replies as Pina barks.

The two tank commanders stare at the dog and Silica in awe.

"A companion dog with almost level seven is nearly unheard of in here," Stonewall exclaims as he moves to pet Pina while Silica looks proudly at her companion.

"It's been a year and almost no-one has a companion that skilled," the other tank commander adds, "Most people don't even bother with dog handling despite the insane buffs."

Kirito and Asuna look at the two North Americans with a serious look and their arms crossed.

"What kind of buffs are we talking about here?" the swordsman asks seriously.

Their friends turn their attention to them.

"Well for starters, it's mainly detection buffs," Nguyen explains enthusiastically as he claps his hands, "Essentially, it means we can detect sneaky bastards crawling around in bushes or traps and mines easier. Night penalties hit us less hard as well. More importantly, we have a better chance finding infiltrators."

Agil gets a surprised look upon hearing this last tidbit.

"Infiltrators? As in players masquerading as your allies?" he asks seriously, "Is that a skill?"

"Yeah. There's some hostile players that love to do that and sabotage vehicles 'n' shit along with ambushing players. One time during the second siege of Paris they got behind our lines and held a crossroad, denying us any access to that part of the front. Not to mention everyone's always a bit more… jumpy." Stonewall answers, "But with Silica and Pina here, it'll make things a bit easier for us."

Klein cracks his knuckles.

"Well, that'll make things interesting," he chuckles cockily, "Don't you think guys?"

The others simply nod in agreement.

From the M36, Aria sticks her head up and yells back at them. "Hey! Forwards scouts just reported they're moving! Fifteen minutes!"

Everyone from ALO gasps and feels excitement as they hear this. This was going to be their first battle! Nguyen quickly scrambles back to _La Montréalaise_ and gets inside his hatch.

"Well, might as well get that fully-fed bonus." suggests Stonewall as he gets on the engine deck of his tank destroyer, "Alright, gang grab your K-rations. It's an easy experience bonus and stamina boost, so dig in."

Sitting down on anything they can find, the players open their inventory and quickly scroll through their items before selecting the K-ration. Appearing in their hands are simple brown boxes with "US Army Field Ration K, Dinner" written on them which they activate. The boxes transform into crackers, a small metal can, a few small boxes, small square aluminium packages and various little pouches. The group start opening the various ingredient packs and hastily prepare the food.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Sinon yells as she tries some, "This is disgusting!"

At the same time, Pina sniffs her handler's ration and whines in disgust before turning away. Silica bites into the food and swallows before going ''Yuk'' and sticking out her tongue.

''How are we supposed to eat this all the time in game?'' she finally asks.

Kirito has a pained look after he bites into a cracker with canned cheese on it and almost spits out his bite.

"This is even worse than the food in SAO!" he exclaims, "There's no taste at all!" Suddenly a bayonet is shoved under his nose.

"What did you say about my cooking in SAO?!" a red-faced Asuna screeches as she points the bayonet at his neck, "I thought you liked it dummy!"

Her boyfriend quickly backpedals and almost falls off the rubble he's sitting on.

"Yours was good… I meant the basic food that everyone else had and sold!" Kirito answers with sweat on his forehead. Asuna looks at him with smug satisfaction before putting away her bayonet.

"I thought you could eat anything nii-san," Leafa dryly remarks as she swallows the last bite of her ration before grimacing.

"Yeah… when it tastes like something!" Kirito argues while holding a cracker, "This doesn't taste anything at all!"

The ALO players all share various looks of disgust after their first taste of K-rations. Stonewall lights up a cigarette and eats his ration with a bemused look.

"Y'all went through that SAO clusterfuck?" He asks curiously.

"I don't think we should ask'em about _that_!" Nguyen shouts from the top of his turret, bits of his food falling from his mouth, "Don't think we need to know about that in detail. If they want to tell, it's up to them. Not us asking them."

"Yeah no shit! I don't mean to pry, I just… knew someone." Stonewall sighs, looking away from them. "Forget I said anything. I was rude for asking."

Klein has somehow finished eating and lights up a cigarette before replying.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know."

Meanwhile, Asuna is hastily scrolling through her skills menu with a determined look.

"Wait a minute, there's a cooking skill in this game!" she finally exclaims happily as she sees that her level was still maxed out, "I'm never eating these things again if I can help it." Everyone else from ALO seems to be relieved at hearing this while the War-Torn veterans have impressed looks on their faces.

"I'll never take your cooking for granted after this," Kirito states. He's still amazed that he finished the K-ration but notices a small blue square with a knife and fork in the corner of his screen. Selecting it, it shows that it's a buff indicator.

"When we'll have the time and requisition," Nguyen says, "Can we get some ingredients so that you can whip up something a bit more edible than the ration packs? I heard fresh food give stronger bonuses."

Asuna nods with a smile while her old friends from ALO all share looks of approval.

"Hey Liz! C'mere for a second! I've got an idea!" Aria suddenly yells from her tank destroyer's turret, waving at the engineer, who painfully swallows the last piece of her rations. The brunette briskly walks over with a smile while humming.

"If you take down this wall on that house there you'll all have a perfect fighting position right next to us." she suggests while pointing a nearby damaged house across the street from her tank destroyer, "You've got TNT blocks, right?"

Liz opens her inventory and begins scrolling through the list. Finally reaching the item asked, she finds the six she requisitioned in Brussels. Selecting them, one of the block appears in her hands.

"Yeah got some," she answers back with a mischievous smile.

"Awesome. Let me help you- Stonewall! You've got gun for a minute! Leafa, you're with us!"

"Right!" answers the blond riflewoman as she stands up from the ground.

"Yes dear." Stonewall mutters, climbing up into the tank and sitting in the gunner's seat, patiently puffing on a cigarette.

The two brunettes and the blonde move over to the building, and Aria shows Liz how to prime one of the charges, having the engineer pull a roll of wire out of her inventory, which she promptly connects to the blasting cap and starts reeling out, taking cover behind the tank destroyer. Meanwhile, a standing Leafa follows them back while keeping her rifle pointing towards the outside of the city.

"Hey Leafa, crouch down, you're a smaller target that way." Stonewall instructs, looking out over the top of the turret. She quickly crouches down after hearing his advice.

"Alright, you hook the positive up to this terminal, and the negative to this terminal." Aria instructs, watching Liz who's holding a detonator and the wires. Once the two are connected she stands up. "FIRE IN THE HOLE! Blow it."

Liz gives a twist of the detonator, and the block of explosives detonates, sending the weak brick wall crashing down into the street. A small message at the bottom of her screen tells her that she gained a small amount of exp and requisition points.

"Awesome!" The engineer shouts as she jumps in glee. Her first handiwork in this new game falls and does a line of cover across the street and blocks it. Suddenly, the sound of barking and whining can be heard. Turning to the source, the players see Silica trying to calm Pina down.

"What is it Pina?" she asks with worry, "Was it the explosion?"

She hugs the dog and pets her head, trying to comfort her but to no avail. A small pop up appears. Silica reads the ominous message aloud.

 **Pina hears incoming whistling.**

"Tabarnak!" Nguyen shouts as he hears this, "INCOMING ARTILLERY!"

He barely finishes yelling before loud whistling breaks the relative peace of the town. The other players and NPC's patrolling begin running to prepared positions while his group springs into action.

"Take cover!" Stonewall yells, motioning towards some craters in the road. The infantry players dash towards the cover before leaping in. Agil deploys his MG-42's bipod while everyone except Sinon hits the ground and point their rifles at the road before them. The sniper vanishes in the nearby ruined buildings.

A loud blast resonates through the group's ears. Looking back at the source, they can see that the first shell obliterates the nearest belltower.

Hidden behind a ruined piece of furniture in an abandoned attic with a damaged roof overlooking the northern road, Sinon merely looks at the ruined tower with indifference.

' _A true sniper knows how to use every cover to her advantage. That would've been too predictable anyways.'_

Other explosions soon rock Aachen and the comms are filled with reports of the artillery barrage. Shouting can be heard as well while players and NPC's brace themselves for the imminent assault. The sound of breaking walls and falling masonry mix themselves in the cacophony. Sometimes, screams of pain and cries for medics and help can be heard as well.

"Baker one-alpha, this is Baker one-one, Aachen is under preparatory barrage right now! How copy?!" Stonewall yells into a headset, listening to the other person for a moment before grinning. "Roger that, godspeed! One-one out!"

The whistling and shelling ends as suddenly as it came. Opening his eyes, Kirito looks around him. His friends and their tanks are covered in fine dust as they get back to their senses. Leafa and Silica cough a bit. More craters have appeared and some nearby buildings have collapsed.

' _This is a new kind of intensity,'_ he thinks, ' _The battle hasn't fully started yet and I'm already on edge.'_

He is snapped out of his thoughts by someone yelling next to him.

"IS ANYONE INJURED!" Asuna shouts worriedly as she pokes her head around to looked for wounded. A chorus of "I'm fine" from familiar voices answers her question. So far, no one in her group got hit. She lets out a sigh of relief before lowering her head back to cover.

Meanwhile, the tank commanders bring up their binoculars to scan for targets coming up the road. Nguyen briefly lowers his binoculars and looks at the infantry players.

"Get behind that line of rubble that the girls made earlier!" he bellows before getting back to his binoculars. Grabbing his handset, he contacts Stonewall.

"Got any contacts man?! I don't have visual on anything yet."

 _{Movement, 800 yards, in the treeline. Armor, likely a Panzer. Twelve-thirty.}_

"Understood," he answers confidently before turning his head down and shouting orders, "Loader, AP! Gunner traverse 0-2-0! Tank 800!"

The Canadian looks through his binoculars once more at the area his platoon commander called out. Scanning the brush, he mutters a few curse words before exclaiming.

"Tank spotted!" he yells before correcting the gunner. Once Roscoe confirms the changes…

"Fire!" orders Nguyen. The thunder of _La Montréalaise'_ s75mm gun is heard and the projectile streaks out the barrel. Kirito and his friends cover their ears for a moment out of surprise.

"Woah man! Shit's getting real!" Agil shouts from his cover before laughing. Kirito can't help but agree mentally. A plume of flame burst from the woods where the friendly tank shot followed by a large explosion and flying shrapnel.

"Good shot there boys!" Nguyen praises as he keeps looking for more nearby targets. The sound of a tank gun being reloaded can be heard as Tony loads another round. Next to him, Roscoe scans for any targets.

"I think they got something big!" exclaims Klein in awe from behind a piece of rubble. Before anyone could say anything, flashes light up the tree line and explosions resonate around them. Tracer fire fills the air as streaks of light fly around them.

"Woah!" yells Kirito as smoke and dust fill his view before a bullet whistles near him and hits the ground behind him, "That was way too close!"

"I'll say!" Leafa yells with a closed eye as she tries to shield herself from the enemy's fire by pressing herself against a wall. Agil's MG-42 roars to life as he sees silhouettes emerging from the treeline while the tanks continue trading fire with their enemy. The sound of tank shells hitting rubble and dirt mix with the increasingly louder sound of small arms fire. Bullets impact the cover behind which the ALO players with growing ferocity.

"Ahhhh!" shouts Silica with tears in her eyes as she huddles behind a fallen piece of wall, "This is way scarier than I thought!" Pina licks her face to comfort her while she clutches her M1 Carbine.

"Don't worry Silica," Agil shouts between bursts with a confident voice, "We're all here with you!"

"We're all in this together!" Asuna adds warmly. Silica smiles a bit after hearing these words and peers out to fire.

Very soon, the others peer over the rubble and open fire as well. The enemy players and NPCs' launch their assault on Aachen.

"Here they come!" Klein shouts enthusiastically as he opens fire with his Thompson. His first shots miss, but once he gets a better feel for the recoil his second burst cuts down a player in a faded Soviet uniform that had gotten too close. The surprised player collapses to the ground before disappearing in a shard of pixels.

"Alright my first kill!" he boasts as he sees a small text at the bottom of his HUD telling him about experience and requisition gain. A burst of fire hits the cover in front of the red haired player, prompting him to cover his face with his left arm before ducking behind cover. "Too close," he grunts before peering out again.

"Just how badly do they want this town?!" Kirito yells from behind cover as he fires at incoming hostiles, "They're throwing a lot of players and NPC at us". He hears another bullet hitting near him.

"It's one of the biggest crossroads in the area, so about as much as we want it!" Stonewall yells from his tank destroyer before getting back to the task of leading his crew.

"Bring it on," mutters Kirito with a smile as he opens fire from cover.

From the abandoned attic where she took position earlier, Sinon carefully looks around. The brown haired sniper doesn't want to waste bullets on targets her friends can dispatch easily. Instead, she looks for an enemy sniper or something as valuable. Her sharp eyes suddenly notices something. A dozen players pulling a pair of wheeled mortars into position in a nearby empty field. It doesn't seem that her team is aware of this. Her mind races. _'I have to act now!'_

"This is not good," she mutters calmly as she sets herself up to fire. Looking through her scope, she watches the group set up their weapon, trying to find the best opening to do the most damage. Her gut kept telling her it was too soon to fire even as the enemy finishes setting his weapons. Sinon then sees her chance and holds her breath.

As the mortarman loads the first shell into his mortar, he doesn't hear the distant gunshot. The sound of metal impacting metal briefly catches his attention before an explosion engulfs him and two of his six-men crew. The other mortar team can only stare for a brief moment as they see their comrades and their weapon disappear in a trail of pixels. The surprise is brief but one of them slides a shell down his tube. The player doesn't register the mistake he's made as his team suffers the same fate that his comrades did as Sinon shoots exactly as the mortar shell shoots back up the tube.

The sniper barely celebrates her first kills as she swiftly relocates to a new spot. A small notification appears in the corner of her screen. Opening it quickly as she moves, its message tells her that she just won extra experience and requisition for two multikills. She quickly runs down the ruined stairs of the house, skillfully avoiding the scattered debris inside and dashes out the front door to another key building she had noticed earlier.

"HE, five hundred yards! Target is a truck at bearing zero-eight-zero!" Stonewall yells, watching through his binoculars as a truck drives up the road, loaded with players.

"On target, come to mama!" Aria smirks, looking through the gunsight as the AI loader slams a 90mm High-Explosive shell into the breech,

"Loading complete!"

"Fire!" Stonewall yells, just before Aria stomps down on the foot trigger, and the 90mm gun makes its presence known, slinging its payload into the driver's compartment of the truck as well as rocking slightly the tank. The Opel Blitz explodes in a maelstrom of shrapnel and pixelated shards, and so do the dozen or so players inside before they can get out.

"Good shot babe!" Stonewall cheers, patting Aria on the shoulder before there's a distant thundering and a shell screams overhead, smashing into the building behind the tank destroyer. The commander raises his binoculars and looks at the far treeline, spotting a familiar, boxy shape.

"One thousand yards, Tiger! Bearing zero-three-six! Load HVAP!"

"I've got him in my sights! That's your average Tiger!" Aria yells, looking into the gunsight.

"Driver, start up!" Stonewall orders, just as the gun of the enemy tank flashes again. Stonewall ducks just in time, the shell taking off the .50 caliber mounted on the turret.

"Loading complete!" The loader yells, grabbing an AP round and holding it, ready to load the next round.

' _Please God don't miss, HVAP is expensive!'_

"Fire!"

The gun roars again, and a shower of sparks erupts on the front slope of the enemy tank, seconds later hatches open and the crew starts climbing out hurriedly of their crippled vehicle. Smoke rises from the vehicle, indicating it as inactive.

"Loader, HE!" Aria yells, slowly tracking the fleeing crew members in her gunsight. The AI loader puts the AP round back in the hollow bustle rack and pulls out a high-explosive round, shoving it into the breach.

"Gun loaded!"

Stonewall doesn't get the chance to give the order to fire. The gun fires, rocking the tank gently before the shell lands amidst the five man crew, killing all of them.

"Hell yes! I collected a bounty!" Aria cheers as a little pop up appears on her screen, "Maybe now we can get the armored roof!"

Meanwhile, the crew of _La Montréalaise_ are still exchanging shots with the enemy tanks. The rubble in front of their tank has a few shells marks denting it while a large scratches scar the right side of the turret. Nguyen sweats as he keeps coordinating his crew in the swirling maelstrom battle. By now, his head is barely sticking out of the hatch. Earlier, a stray bullet had flown a little too close to him.

"LOADED!" yells Tony as the breech locks into place. His commander nods before issuing the order to fire. The shot misses the Panzer IV and kicks up the dirt next to it instead, the AP round bouncing and careening off into the forest. The Sherman's gun raises for a moment for the crew to reload.

''Missed! Adjust 5 degrees right!'' he shouts frantically to his gunner who traverses slightly the turret. At the same time, Tony swiftly reloads the gun with another AP round.

''Ready up!''

"Fire!"

A burst flame rises from where the Panzer IV was. The crew briefly blow a sigh of relief.

 _{Baker one-one, this is Panther 402. Our flank has collapsed! There's a swarm of players and monsters coming your way!}_ Stonewall's radio crackles to life, filled with the panicked voice of the Panther tank radio operator.

"Roger that, How did they get through?!" The tank commander yells into his headset.

 _{They've got a pair of IS-2's that knocked out our Tigers! I think it's the ones with the bounties! There's a mob of Soviet players too!}_

"Roger that. There's a trio of Door Knockers from the Ninth that are ready to fire at any coordinates you give them!"

Stonewall waits for a reply, holding the headset to his ear while Aria fires the gun, knocking out a Panzer IV. When only silence ensues he cues his microphone again. "402, do you copy?"

Only a slight static is the response, and he swears before having his radio operator select another channel.

"Charlie Niner, come in, over!"

 _{Charlie Niner, go ahead Baker.}_

"Charlie, I need a barrage, King-Red, zero-three-four, eight-two-six, how copy?!"

 _{Readback, King-Red, zero-three-four, eight-two-six. That's directly on the location of the Fifth Panzers, I can't fire on that location without their approval.}_

"There isn't anyone left to approve of it! Just fire on those coordinates! I'll take the fall for it!"

 _{Rrrrroger that. Fifteen rounds, HE, on the way. Charlie out.}_

Stonewall readies his Garand and peeks over the edge of his turret, catching the attention of Kirito with a wave. "HEY! Our right flank just collapsed! Keep an eye out!"

Mere seconds after he yells that there's a shower of sparks that erupt from the front of the tank destroyer. Inside the hull, the AI crewmen yell out as their HP drops to zero nearly instantly, and they disappear in a burst of pixelated shards. The loader collapses in the hull, and Aria screams out as hull spalling shreds her legs. Jackson grabs her and pulls her out of her seat, out over the rear of the turret and onto the engine deck, ducking back behind the turret when machinegun rounds plink off the gun mantlet.

"Aria's hit! Medic!" He yells, lifting her up and jumping off, laying the woman down behind the tank before climbing back up onto it and retrieving their weapons. Klein, Leafa and Kirito switch their fire to cover Asuna. The medic jumps out of cover and runs over, setting about treating her, fumbling with the satchel full of medical supplies as Stonewall starts coordinating the defense.

"This isn't like a healing spell," Asuna mutters furiously as she goes through the various supplies which includes various bandages, packages and syringes, "Or a health potion." Luckily small pop-ups appear to tell what each item does and how to use them. Finally, she finds the right bandages and begins patching up Aria's injuries who are losing pixels. Taking a quick look at the gunner's health bar, she sees that it's already half-empty. Asuna works faster.

"Don't worry, I'm here! You'll be alright," she says with a reassuring tone as she pulls another item from her pouch, this time a pin, "I used to be a healer in ALO so you should be fine."

"It's different from magic though, and it's far more complex than a healing potion." Aria half-heartedly chuckles while wincing in pain. "I can walk you through it I think."

"Thanks but I think I got the hang of this," answers Asuna with a warm smile, "Correct if I do something wrong though," She takes a breath to steady herself. The sound of battle still echoes behind them as the medic continued her work.

Running over to Agil, Stonewall kneels beside him, directing his fire, then once the MG42 is firing on the groups of infantry he runs over to Nguyen's tank. "Hey! Things are getting too hot! Back up and cover our rear!"

"What about the Panzer IV's?!" The commander asks.

"We'll take care of them! Get out of here, there's two IS-2's on our flank!"

"Roger that!" The Canadian nervously throws Stonewall a salute before ordering his driver to back up, just as a burst of automatic fire sends the American scrambling for cover.

"Targets right!" Stonewall yells, raising his rifle and firing once, dropping the engineer that was shooting at him, just as a half dozen Kobolds emerge from the buildings on his left, forcing him to change his priorities to killing the monsters. Smoke shells starting dropping on their right flank, blanketing the zone in thick white smoke. At the same time, Silica and Liz redirect their fire when Pina starts barking in _La Montréalaise'_ s direction.

"Oh no!" shouts the younger player followed by a yell from Liz. Silhouettes begin forming in the smoke and draw closer.

"Look out Nguyen! There's enemy players on your right!" The engineer yells, but the tank commander is too engrossed by the battle to hear her.

In that time, the tank commander is still focused on the enemy in front of him. A flicker of flame catches his attention out of the corner of his eye.

By then, it's too late; The first Molotov cocktail has already left the thrower's hand and flies towards. The bottle impacts on the turret's back and breaks, dousing the commander and the interior of the tank with its flammable contents before the flaming rag sets it alight. Liz and Silica freeze for a moment as they witness the terrifying scene.

"AHHHHH! TABARNAK! I'M ON FIRE!" he screams in agony as his uniform and turret roof burst into flames, "EVERYONE OUT!" His health bar starts falling quickly as he pulls himself off the turret's left side. At the same time, the loader's hatch pops open with Tony jumping out and clutching his Grease gun with some of the flames igniting his clothing. Pixels start rising from his uniform as it's consumed by the fire. He lands flat on his stomach and starts rolling on the ground with Tony next to him whose uniform suffers the same fate. Pings resound as gunshots hit the tank.

The burning fuel falls into the open hatch onto Roscoe's uniform causing the gunner to howl in pain and swear as he pulls himself out of the turret and does exactly the same as the rest of his turret crew.

Very quickly, another Molotov hits the engine deck of the tank and sets it alight. The front hatches pop open with Lou and Dick emerging unscathed. Both roar in anger as they leap out with their weapons in hand. Dick carries a shotgun while Lou holds a Thompson in his hands. Both are firing as they hit the ground to avenge their comrades. Bullets whiz by their bodies as they crouch behind their burning tank and run over to their burning friends whose howls fill their ears. Thinking quickly, they materialize fire extinguishers from their inventories and douse their comrades, swiftly putting out the flames and slowing their health drain. Unfortunately, Nguyen's health bar has dropped to 30% and he lies immobile on the ground. Pixel shards still rise slowly from his body.

"Assholes!" Stonewall yells, firing at the thrower of the firebombs. The Soviet uniform-clad player crumples like a doll with its strings cut, and then disappears in a burst of pixelated shards. At the same time, the rest of his team have changed positions to cover the stricken tank. The sound of Kirito, Klein and Leafa's weapons ring out as they engage the incoming assault on their right flank. Their fire joins Agil, Liz and Silica's. Meanwhile Asuna shakily finishes bandaging Aria's injured legs behind cover, stopping the health loss.

"Yo cover us man!" shouts Dick as he starts dragging Nguyen away from their stricken tank and across the rubble, "Lou! Grab Tony and Roscoe!"

"Are you serious man?!" the assistant driver shouts back from between the two casualties who are longer burning but still losing health points at a slower rate.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP MAN! GET IT DONE!" barks back Dick.

Another enemy player sounds rounds the corner of the burning tank. The driver drops his commander for a second as he pumps the shotgun. Pulling back on the trigger, he hits the unfortunate player dead center, causing him to throw his gun in the air. The unfortunate player spirals to the ground before disappearing.

"Hey! Cover fire!" Stonewall yells at Agil, motioning at the building the enemy players keep emerging from. The rest of the group follow his command as well, buying time for Lou and Dick to pull Nguyen and Tony.

"Cover me guys!" shouts Kirito before dropping his carbine. He dashes forward towards Roscoe.

"No party member dies on my watch!" he yells as he gets to the injured gunner lying on the ground and trying to get up. The player weakly smiles and raises a thumb as Kirito reaches him.

"Thanks man," he croaks out.

Suddenly a shout is heard. Kirito's eyes rises and sees another player armed with a long rifle about to shoot him. Without thinking, he roars and lunges at the rifleman, drawing his katana. A swift slash hits the player in the chest and leaves a large red gash from where pixels emerge. Another swing from Kirito makes contact with the player's neck, causing his health bar to drop to zero. The rifleman disintegrates into pixels, and Kirito puts the katana back in its scabbard in one swift motion before grabbing Roscoe and dragging him over to Asuna. The medic is tending to the injured turret crew of " _La Montréalaise"_ while Aria's legs are both bandaged up by now. Nguyen is still unresponsive on the ground while Tony is getting his right arm patched up. Roscoe clutches a burnt shoulder and his back is also scorched. The sound of battle rages around them. Blasts are heard in the distance while bullets whiz around them.

"I'm almost out of medical supplies!" Asuna reports urgently as she uses her last burn kit on Roscoe's back.

"They're coming too fast," shouts Leafa worriedly as she eliminates another player with her rifle before reloading, "What are we gonna do!? I don't think we can hold them here."

Silica and Pina are by her side, doing their best to hold back the tide of Soviet-styled players.

"Everyone get ready to move! We can't hold this position without the tanks!" Stonewall yells over a burst of SMG fire from Klein. The latter nods in approval

"Right, what's the plan Stonewall!" shouts Kirito as he fires his M1A1 Carbine. Next to him, Leafa reloads her rifle and begins firing at the incoming enemy.

"If we can hold out on the west side of town, we've got an entire battalion worth of players on the way! I'll carry Aria, but we've gotta move soon or those IS-2's will block our escape!"

"I've stabilized Nguyen and Roscoe!" reports Asuna as she ties up the last bandage on Roscoe, "Nguyen's stunned while Roscoe can walk."

"We're almost out of ammo!" shouts Liz as she's firing at a submachine gunner rushing her, dropping him before he gets too close, "We better get out of here fast before we run out."

Leafa and Silica nod in approval as well.

"Right, follow me!" shouts Stonewall as he gets up and moves over to pick up his girlfriend. Lou picks up Nguyen who's still out cold and slings him over his shoulder. The group begins moving out through the streets, climbing over rubble and moving through buildings as the sound of weapons fire grow distant behind them, only a few gunshots ringing out now and then as the other players and NPCs fall back into Aachen. Some players are carrying their wounded friends either on their backs or on stretchers. Others run as fast as they can, discarding their weapons. Damaged tanks also roll down the streets, bearing scars of their recent fight with the enemy. The streets also show sign of battle as new craters have appeared while more building lay collapsed on them. Explosions and gunfire still echo in the distance as certain players still hold the line. The question was how long would they hold?

"Where's Sinonon!?" Asuna suddenly exclaims with worry. "We haven't seen her since the battle started."

"She's been following us. Don't worry." Stonewall groans, climbing up a pile of rubble. Even if it is the virtual world, Aria still weighs something and the tank commander is running out of breath carrying her. The group continue running when shells start falling around them, their blasts shaking the ground.

"Knowing Sinon," Kirito adds with a smile, "She's probably been having a blast wreaking havoc on the other team."

Stonewall grins at this, but as he rounds the corner of a ruined cafe, he blanches and quickly backpedals, hiding from something. "Stop, don't go out there." he barks with a nervous face. The rest of the group stop running upon hearing this.

"What? Why?" Asuna asks in surprise.

"There's an IS-2 out there. It'll blow us to kingdom come if it spots us."

"What's an IS-2 exactly? You've been talking about those for awhile now" Leafa says with worry as she catches her breath, "It sounds pretty scary."

Silica, Pina and Liz are leaning on the cafe's wall, breathing heavily while Lou puts Nguyen down and leans him against the wall.

"Those big German tanks you saw earlier? It was designed to kill those. It's got a big ass gun and lots of armor." Stonewall explains hurriedly, "If it shoots at you… you don't exist anymore."

"Don't worry guys, I'll get it." Klein says with a grin, pulling out his recoilless rifle. Lou promptly proposes his help to reload the weapon.

"Don't bother. It won't do anything except piss off the crew." Stonewall sighs, putting down Aria.

"What are you planning?" Aria asks with a raised eyebrow.

Stonewall smiles in response, opening his inventory. "Remember St-Lo?"

"Oh god not again…"

Stonewall finds what he's looking for and materializes a block of TNT, which has a fuse stuck in it, then he looks at the ALO players and grins. "Cover me? I'm gonna try something stupid."

"Sure thing my man," Agil responds with a confident smile as he checks his machine gun and racks the bolt. Kirito gets a smile.

"Mind if I come with you?" he asks enthusiastically, "I like reckless ideas."

He cracks a shoulder before walking towards the tank commander.

"Be careful nee-san!" Leafa sternly warns Kirito.

Stonewall chuckles and leans his rifle against the wall. "Sure, just stay close."

The American draws an old-fashioned Colt Army revolver from a holster on his hip and grins maliciously before running around the corner, with Kirito close behind.

As the gunner inside the heavy tank slowly traverses the turret towards the left, searching for targets, Stonewall and Kirito take cover behind a pile of rubble as the long barrel aims their direction. Several tense seconds pass before the gun moves along.

"Klein! Hit the tracks!" Stonewall yells, pulling a zippo lighter out of his pocket.

The ex-Samurai kneels at the corner and aims at the tank as Lou loads a round in the launcher, tapping Klein on the helmet once it's loaded. The gunner can't help but feel dread and awe at seeing the massive war machine. The first shot goes but hits the right side of the turret instead with a deafening clang, leaving a scorched dent on the side of the turret. There's no reaction for a few seconds but it starts turning ominously towards Klein and Lou.

"Shit man!" swears Lou as he hurriedly shoves another shell into the M18's breech. It is a swift reload but time slows for Klein as he watches the massive barrel of the IS-2 turn towards him. Sweat forms on his forehead. He snaps out of his daze when his loader taps his helmet. He also hears Lou

"Don't fuck it up motherfucker!" he rudely barks in a guttural voice.

Taking a deep breath, Klein aims again at the monstrous tank. When he finally fires again, the shell strikes the idler wheel, blowing it off and immobilizing the tank. Once Klein ducks back around the corner, Stonewall jams his pistol in his holster and jumps up, sprinting over to the tank and lighting the fuze on the TNT before slapping it on the engine deck. Meanwhile, Kirito keeps his rifle trained on the turret hatches in case someone pokes out. Then he runs back to where him and Kirito were hiding and takes cover.

A blast resonates and the IS-2 is crippled for good, the fuel lines having been destroyed along with the roof of the engine compartment. The crew proceeds to abandon their stricken vehicle, only to get cut down by Agil and Kirito's weapons.

Stonewall jumps up and runs back grinning to where the others are waiting for him, picking up Aria and his rifle. "Let's get going."

"Hey!" A voice hisses, causing everyone to turn towards the source with their weapons raised. A player in a British uniform waves at them from a second story window across the street. "Four coming out!"

The player disappears, and a few seconds later the door opens. Four players file out, Lee Enfield's and Sten's at the ready. They run across the street and kneel down in front of the Cafe, most bearing bandages.

"You guys with the Twelfth Scots?" Stonewall asks. One of them nods in confirmation before answering.

"Yeah. Sapper section, at your service. Aren't you from Baker, Third Armored?"

"Yep. We're falling back. Both flanks have collapsed, and our tanks got taken out."

The apparent section leader winces. "Hate to break it to you, but the road out of here got captured during the initial counterattack. We're surrounded."

"Ah…. fuck."

 **Author's note: Well… things got a little sticky here. Talk about a memorable first time for Kirito and co. huh?**

 **As always, if you read this chapter, please read and review! It encourages us and gives us pointers on to improve our writing.**


	3. Situation normal

**Authors' note and disclaimer: This is a collab fic with SirStonewall. SAO and its characters don't belong to us but to Reki Kawahara. We are merely playing in the world he created. Stonewall and his crew belong to SirStonewall while the crew of "** _ **La Montréalaise"**_ **belong to me.**

 **We also updated chapter one to better describe the ALO gang's new avatars.**

" **Special shoutout to K-2-Black-Panther. Thanks for the enthusiastic reviews, it helps motivate us. You'll get your Firefly's eventually, when the time is right." - SirStonewall**

 **Chapter 3: Situation normal…**

" _Hate to break it to you, but the road out of here captured during the initial counterattack. We're surrounded."_

" _Ah…. fuck."_

"So what are we going to do then?" Aria asks from atop Stonewall's shoulders, clutching a M1911A1 in her left hand.

The loud crack of a sniper rifle nearby makes the experienced tankers flinch, and Stonewall chuckles. "There's Sinon. We'll keep moving for now. There's gotta be someone in here with a radio. If we can find a radio then we might be able to organize a breakout."

"There's a command post we'd set up in a cellar. It's down that way. There should be working radios there." one of the sappers points down the street past the smoking IS-2.

"Alright, let's go." Stonewall sighs. Everyone picks themselves up, Lou grabs Nguyen and hoists the stunned tank commander on his shoulder.

"We better get to a medic station soon though," he remarks, "Nguyen's dead weight and I think he's still losing HP every now and then."

Starting to trudge down the road. The Sappers and ALO players all file in, with Kirito taking lead in front of Stonewall, and the section leader walking alongside the American.

"So what's your name?" Stonewall asks.

"The lads just call me McNary." the dark haired sapper answers while adjusting his Brody helmet.

"That'll d-ARGH!"

The crack of a rifle rings out and Stonewall falls backwards, a red pixelated hole on his shoulder. Then a second shot rings out from behind them, and once again everything falls silent in the square. Gunshots are still heard in the distance.

"Medic." The American sighs nonchalantly, holding his shoulder while sitting up. Asuna rushes over and opens her satchel, pulling out a roll of bandages. Stonewall grabs her wrist before she can wrap it and reaches into her bag, pulling out a small packet of powder. "Disinfectant. Infections are a thing."

Asuna nods and takes the packet, ripping it open and sprinkling the contents on the wound before wrapping it in bandages. Once his shoulder is wrapped up the tanker stands up and picks up Aria. "Leafa and Silica, go ahead of me please. McNary, you're with them. The CP is right up this street." Stonewall says as he points towards the end of a ruined street filled with damaged vehicles and abandoned equipment. The crackling sound of burning wood can occasionally be heard as well.

The small mob of players make their way up the street, listening as the familiar crack of Sinon's M1903 from behind them as the sniper dispatches key targets in the nearby city square.

"Right here, in the back." McNary says, pointing at an intact house. He leads the way with Silica and Pina close behind, the dog with her nose to the ground.

When everyone reaches the cellar door Pina sniffs the door just as McNary grabs the handle, and she lets out a warning growl as her hackles raise up.

Stonewall stiffens at the growl and puts down Aria, drawing his pistol and moving to stand next to the sapper as he opens up the door.

"Dick, can I borrow your shotgun?" He asks, looking down into the dark space.

"Sure," he grunts, "Give it back to me when you're done," he adds possessively as he checks it one last time before handing to his friend.

Stonewall catches the shotgun when it's thrown to him, and McNary turns on a gooseneck flashlight before descending down the creaking stairs with his Sten at the ready. Meanwhile, the tank commander tucks the shotgun's stock against his shoulder and follows close behind, with Leafa and Lou following behind him.

Inside, McNary reaches the bottom of the stairs and is almost instantly tackled to the floor, knocking away his Sten.

"AAAAHHH! HEL-ACK!" he shouts as he flails his arms, trying to beat off whatever is attacking him.

Stonewall pulls his rifle bayonet from its scabbard and jumps onto the lizardman, stabbing it in the neck as Pina runs in and jumps at the far dark corner with a snarl, dragging out another of the humanoid monsters by the ankle. Stonewall pulls his Colt out of the holster and shoots the second lizardman once, causing both it and the one he stabbed to disappear in a burst of pixelated shards at roughly the same time. He gets to his feet and puts his weapons back where they belong on his person, then offers McNary a hand up.

"Th-thanks, I owe you one." the sapper mutters, accepting the help up while Pina trots over back to a beaming Silica, tail wagging.

"Don't mention it. Let's get one of these radios working." Stonewall replies, picking up Dick's shotgun and moving back up the stairs, waving everyone else in.

On his way back he gives Pina a pat on the head and scratches behind one of her ears. "Good girl. I'd give you a treat if I had any."

Silica nods in agreement.

"Stonewall, there isn't a working radio in here. Players shot it all up." McNary sighs, shining his flashlight around the room at the hole-riddled equipment on the tables and burnt out codebooks.

"Shit… any other places we can find one?"

"'Fraid not for certain. The OP's each had one, but they were assigned to players."

Stonewall growls under his breath and pulls his map out of his jacket, brushing the spent shell casings off a table before spreading it out. "Alright, umm…. there was an OP overlooking the road outta here. We can assume that's been occupied and there's probably plenty of troops there. We're gonna swing through the south-west OP and hope there's a radio there. If not, we'll escape into the woods and try to make our way to Liege. Any objections?"

Roscoe shakes his head with a serious look.

"Don't see any issues with that. We might be able to rescue other players too." A scowl graces his face though.

"What the hell happened though?!" he angrily asks, "Did we get another retard like that Stevensons guy commanding us?!"

"I don't know much, but what I do know is that the wehraboos couldn't pull their own weight."

"Of course, fuckin' idiots," Roscoe rants, "Can't count on those retards for anything."

Stonewall nods in agreement before turning to the rest of the group.

"We're gonna hole up for a bit here first. Asuna see if you can get Nguyen's HP up far enough to where he's not stunned. I think 35% is the threshold." Stonewall adds with a smug grin. "I'd rather we didn't have to carry his sorry ass around everywhere."

Asuna opens her medical pack and looks dejected as she rummages through it.

"I'm running short on supplies though," she reports, "I'm not sure if I can heal him."

"Asuna, there should be an item in your bag, looks like a little superglue container, it's labelled 'morphine'. Give him one of those." Aria advises from the back of the group, having been placed against a wall.

"Yeah," Lou adds with an evil grin, "Stick it in his ass. It'll work better." The male players can't help but laugh a little while Asuna shoots the assistant driver a dirty look.

Aria suppresses a laugh and holds out her hand. "Here, I'll show you how to do it. Don't listen to those schmucks."

Lou looks slightly disappointed as he carries Nguyen over to Asuna and Aria.

"Aww… did you have to ruin my fun like that?" he asks Aria, frowning.

"Yep, just because you guys are friends doesn't mean you can teach a medic improper procedure. Now go watch the entrance."

"Yes ma'am…" He grumbles, setting Nguyen down and moving to stand at the top of the stairs.

Meanwhile, Stonewall gives Dick his shotgun back and retrieves his rifle, slinging it on his shoulder before reloading his revolver.

"Say, isn't that one of the legendary pistols?" One of the Sappers asks, scrutinizing the pistol in the tank commander's hands.

"Yeah, 'Patton's Right Hand Man'. I got it after the game got released as a gift for helping with the Closed Beta." Stonewall replies, putting the ivory-handled pistol back in its holster.

"So this game has legendary weapons too?" Kirito asks, looking curiously at the pistol.

"Yeah. There's about two dozen pistols, probably about twice to three times that many rifles and SMG's. 'Bout a dozen machine guns, and a couple swords. There's legendary vehicles too." Stonewall replies, pulling the half-empty N-block out of his Garand and putting a fresh one in.

"Legendary swords huh?"

A silence falls upon the group as they wait for Asuna and Aria to get Nguyen fixed up, and it's only broken when everyone hears the cellar door open. Everyone readies their weapons but it's quickly followed by Lou sighing in relief.

"Calisse Sinon! I almost shot you."

The cellar door closes again, and Sinon quietly walks down the stairs, looking around the dimly-lit cellar. "The area is clear for now. The players have routed into the church."

"Not bad Sinon. Was there a tank in the square?" Stonewall asks.

"Yeah, It's been taken care of though. What's the plan?" The sniper responds indifferently, slinging her Springfield on her shoulder.

"We'll be moving to an observation post on the southwest side of town, Hopefully there'll be a radio there, if not, we'll make a break for it into the forest to the southwest and hoof it back to Liege." Stonewall explains as he shows her a map.

"Okay."

"Then we're all in agreement. Everyone check your ammo, share if you can so everyone has roughly the same amount." Stonewall orders, looking over at the medic and the stunned tank commander. "Any chance he's going to be up and about?" Asuna applies the morphine pack and waits for it to take effect.

"Oh calisse de tabarnak," groans a familiar voice as Nguyen sits up. "Fucking hell, talk about a SNAFU."

"...I'll take that as a yes. Welcome back to the land of the living." Stonewall chuckles, pulling a M1911A1 out of his inventory and offering it by the barrel to Nguyen. "You lost your Thompson again."

His friend runs through his inventory menu and shakes his head.

"Not this time! Still got my M1911 too!"

A Thompson materializes on his shoulder, causing him to wince from the weight of the weapon on a burn. "That was not a smart idea," he mutters.

"We almost missed your voice," Tony snarkily remarks from a corner while Dick smiles evilly.

"Almost." Stonewall jokes prior to looking at Aria with a serious expression. "Any chance you'll be walking?"

"Cut it out guys," Roscoe lightly scolds, "Nguyen just got back. You can bash on him later."

Turning to his friend with a smile, he quickly welcomes him back.

"Also… fuck you Lou!"

A short laugh is heard from the top of the stairs.

"Love you too little bitch!"

"Ten seconds until the morphine takes effect." The gunner responds to her fiance, flipping open the dust cover on her M3 'Grease gun'.

A slight groan is heard as Nguyen pulls himself back to his feet, followed by a more feminine grunt as Aria shakily stands up with the help of Asuna and Stonewall.

"Alright people, let's move out. Keep the cripples in the center, and don't bunch up." Stonewall orders, folding his map back up before putting it in his jacket.

His fellow tank commander looks over at Pina and Silica as he unslings his Thompson.

"Say Silica, did Pina pick anything up?" he asks, "Town's probably filled with enemy players running around. Her detection skill might pick'em up."

Silica shakes her head, looking down at the dog. "Nope, nothing."

"Buildings and smoke affect the detection skill of a dog, same with dust, or even blowing snow and sand." Stonewall points out, starting up the stairs with his rifle snugged up against his shoulder.. "Pina didn't pick up those two monsters until she sniffed the door."

"Figures," remarks Nguyen, holding his Thompson in hand, "Would have been too easy otherwise."

"Yeah, took 'em about two months to get that right. They put a lot of effort into dogs, and yet almost nobody uses them." The American sighs back before nodding to Lou. "Let's get this show on the road."

The weary group begins filing out of the former command post, the wounded players staying in the center of the group with Asuna as they move from street to street, using shortcuts through destroyed buildings to get closer to their objective while staying off of the roads, when enemy players are likely to be laying in wait. Stonewall leads the group while Kirito and Klein stand on opposite sides of their unit. Following them was Silica, Leafa and Liz who keep an eye out for trouble. Silica watches closely Pina for any signs of trouble. Closing the march was Agil, Dick and Lou.

Aachen is strangely quiet, the sounds of battle having died out except for distant gunshots or cannon fire, and despite their worries, the streets seem deserted. The occasional squeaking and rattling of tank tracks on the larger roads prove otherwise, but all of them seem to head straight through town without stopping. Masonry can occasionally be heard falling.

"This is just... weird," Leafa comments suddenly as they cut through a damaged building's courtyard, "Where are all the other players?"

Kirito nods as he hears this.

"Probably busy elsewhere," he says, "Maybe they're busy clearing another part of town?"

Nguyen briefly grunts before answering.

"That's probably what happened Leafa. Given that they overran us pretty quickly, they probably feel safe slowing down and patching themselves up before getting back to clearing out the place."

Even as they reach the Observation Post in the half-destroyed attic of a two-story house, they can still hear the engines rumble through the streets, and Pina keeps her ears perked in that direction while everyone stacks up on the front door, the ALO players requiring a bit of guidance in doing so.

"Ari, lend me your Grease Gun." Stonewall mutters, trading weapons with his fiance.

He moves to the front of the line and holds the SMG at the ready with one hand, turning the door handle and pushing the door open. Following him is Dick, shotgun raised and predatory snarl on his face and Kirito with sword drawn out.

Stonewall moves in through the threshold and is instantly met face-to-face with a British machine gunner carrying a Bren.

"Bulldog." He challenges, raising the M3.

"Ballyhoo." The soldier responds, relaxing slightly.

Stonewall lower his gun and smiles. "Good to see you. You boys got a working radio?"

"Aye, upstairs." The soldier jerks his head towards the stairwell and watches as everyone files in, closing the door behind them. The house is a mess with overturned, damaged furniture lying around, glass from the shattered windows litters the floor and crunches under everyone's feet as they enter.

Stonewall walks upstairs and is greeted by six guys in British uniforms, three of which looking out a hole in the roof while the other three watch the stairs. Stress can be seen all over their faces. The latter aim their Sten's at Stonewall when he comes up the stairs, and the American raises his hands. "Good day gentlemen. We're getting the hell out of town, and were wondering if you wanted to come along."

"How did you know we were here?" One of them asks, relaxing and lowering his weapon.

"We didn't know, but we knew there was an OP here. I was wondering if I could use your radio."

"Sure thing."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Stonewall mutters, putting his hands down and walking over to the radio. "Charlie Niner, this is Baker one-one, come in, over."

 _{Charlie Niner, go ahead Baker, over.}_

"Charlie, be advised, our tanks have been knocked out. Aachen has been encircled and overrun, requesting fire of the West side of town. Sustained barrage, five minutes, over."

 _{Charlie copies. Western side of Aachen, sustained barrage, five minutes. Charlie six is also in position, consisting of six Priests. How copy? Over.}_

"Solid copy, commence fire in two minutes with Charlie six. Baker out." Stonewall hangs the handset on the radio pack and straightens up, looking around at the other players in the room. "A battery of door knockers and priests are gonna pound the hell out of the west side of town while we get out of here. You gents coming?"

"Sure thing. Better than staying here. Right-o boys, get your kit and fall in." The section leader orders, grabbing his Sten from a nearby table.

Stonewall nods in satisfaction and heads back downstairs, looking at everyone. "Liz, how many satchel charges did Aria make you pack?"

"Two, why?" asks Liz with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I'm gonna show you how to make a booby trap."

"A what now?!" Liz shrieks as she crosses her arms over her chest. Nguyen snickers in the background, earning a glare from Asuna.

"An area-denial trap." Stonewall answers nonchalantly. "As an engineer, you'll probably end up using them a lot."

"Then why did you call it a booby trap?!" she retorts. Nguyen clears his throat.

"Essentially, it's named after a bird called the Booby." he explains tersely, "It was so fucking retarded that it would fall into any trap people would make. That's why we call'em booby traps in English."

He pauses.

"Were you thinking of something else?" he adds with a sly grin and a chuckle.

"N-no I wasn't! Shut up!" Liz stammers, turning beet red while Leafa and Asuna glare at the tank commander.

"Yeah right," snorts Dick from his corner of the room.

"Sure you weren't. Come on Liz, let's set a trap." Stonewall chuckles as he leads her back upstairs to the now-vacant attic.

A distant rumbling akin to thunder spurs everyone into moving out of the booby-trapped house, Stonewall, Agil, and Sinon cover the others as they run and hobble across the open ground, taking cover thirty yards into the woods. The last three follow once everyone else is out of sight, sprinting through across the short grass as fast as their legs will carry them. Once they catch up with the others Stonewall pulls his map out and kneels down, motioning for everyone to gather around him as the town erupts in explosions.

"Alright people. We're right here, on the edge of this little fold in the terrain. We're gonna follow this fold straight west. After a couple miles we'll cut over to the road and follow that back to Liege. Any questions or comments?"

"If we run into the enemy what should we do?" Kirito asks as he picks up his breath.

"Find the nearest piece of cover and hunker down, if you have to move, move quickly."

"Ahh artillery… the ultimate argument of Kings!" Nguyen sighs happily as the explosions echo nearby, "Always happy to hear it plaster the other team and not us."

Behind them, Sinon is peering out of the dense woods and looks back at Aachen.

"No one's following us yet," she reports calmly as she turns back towards her friends who gather behind the treeline in a circle. Everyone quickly catches their breath while Pina sniffs the air. The dog stays calm, confirming Sinon's report.

"Good. Let's get going before anyone gets any ideas." Aria grumbles as the group gets back on their feet. The sound of their footsteps and branches cracking beneath is the only thing they hear as they escape through the woods, the venture being tense and quiet.

After a couple miles, Liz suddenly stops for a moment, a look of surprise appearing on her face.

"Hey guys!" she exclaims, "I just got six kills. What the hell?"

Her notifications announces a multi-kill bonus in addition to the usual rewards message.

"Behold the power of booby traps." Stonewall chuckles. "You done bagged yourself a bunch o' boobs."

The engineer gets a flustered look on her face and stammers while some of the male players snicker behind them. Asuna, Sinon and Leafa glare at them, silencing them. The medic turns at her red-faced friend with a smile.

"That's six players that won't be chasing us for now," she praises, "Good job Liz!"

"Are we almost there though?" Silica whines adorably. Nguyen looks at her tiredly.

"Should be," he answers kindly, "If we're lucky, we'll run into friendlies soon."

"We should be nearing the road if I'm reading this map correctly." Stonewall sighs, "And I'm pretty sure I'm reading it right, grew up in search and rescue after all…"

Kirito realizes something however.

"Do you think our allies know that Aachen fell?" he asks seriously, "If they funnel in, they'll be easy kills for the other team."

Agil and Klein nod as they hear this.

"I reckon they probably have begun setting ambushes and traps," adds Agil as he thinks.

"We'd better do something fast." exclaims Klein with a growl, "Our guys could get in big trouble at this rate. Dammit!"

". . . . That's a fair point. Double-time it people." Stonewall quips as he realizes the gravity of the situation, stuffing the map back in his jacket and breaking into a slow jog. Kirito quickly matches his pace followed by Asuna. "Kirito, Asuna, Lou, go ahead of us and flag down the next vehicle that comes up the road towards Aachen, tell 'em you're part of Baker!"

"Sir yes sir!" exclaims Lou with a mock salute as he straightens himself out. Nguyen mutters. "Dumbass."

The running steps of the small group can be heard as Kirito, Asuna and Lou dash forward. As they run through the woods, the assistant driver looks at the ALO players.

"So you guys like this so far?"

"This is really fun! It's like a more hardcore version of GGO." Kirito huffs, his Carbine slung on his shoulder.

"I used to play GGO with the rest of the gang before this came out," says Lou wistfully, "Used to carry an M4. It was fun but it was lacking a little something."

"War-Torn's medical system seems like it might actually be moderately useful in real life too." Asuna observes as they keep running, carefully avoiding obstacles.

"Yeah. There's lots of actually useful stuff that this game can teach you. Stonewall knows how to weld because of this game, and Aria's finishing medical school. Rift is on track to becoming a firearms instructor," explains Lou with a smile.

' _The wonders of V.R'_ Kirito muses happily as he runs, _'You can really do a lot nowadays.'_

Ahead a break in the trees can be seen, and the players slow to a more cautious pace before they reach it, looking warily at their surroundings.

"Nothin'." Lou sighs in relief, relaxing. "We should wait here for the oth-"

"Shush for a second." Kirito orders, closing his eyes. "I hear something." The trio stops and crouch down behind the thick bushes as Kirito focuses on listening to the noise as it slowly gets louder, coming from the west. Lou finally hears it too and looks down the road, spotting a jeep bounding down the gravel road at them.

"Hey! Stop!" He yells, waving his hands over his head.

The jeep slows down while one of the occupants tensely points its .30cal machine gun at Kirito and his two friends. Dust settles around it as it stops.

"What's your outfit?" shouts the dark skinned driver with caution in his voice.

"Outfit?" mumbles Kirito as he looks perplexed at his clothes.

"Yo, we're from Baker!" replies Lou, just as Stonewall jogs out of the woods.

"Bulldog!"

"Ballyhoo!" The gunner replies, following up with a second challenge. "Popeye!"

"Pappy." Stonewall replies, lowering his rifle. "Y'all headed to Aachen?"

The crew of the jeep blow a quick sigh of relief before realizing that something is amiss.

"Yeah, what're you lot doing way out here?" The driver asks quizzically as he looks at Stonewall's uniform, "Aren't you guys a tank platoon?"

"Getting the fuck outta Aachen. Don't keep going, you'll drive straight into an ambush. Think we could get a ride back to Liege?" responds Stonewall, "Yeah… our tanks are smoking wrecks now."

"The town's been overrun by the other team," Kirito adds in seriously.

"We've got a column of tanks and trucks behind us. If what you say is true, we'll have to rethink our plans." The gunner responds.

"What's your guys' outfit?" Stonewall asks, walking over to stand beside the idling jeep.

"Fourth motorized, Able. We're working with the Scots Royal Guard, and Dog company of the 82nd."

"Oh, mind if I use your radio? I know the company commander of the Scots."

"Sure thing. Go right ahead." The passenger replies, taking the infantry backpack radio and passing the handset to the tank commander.

"Jig one-actual, this is Baker one-one. Come in, over."

 _{This is Jig one-actual, send.}_

"Jig, be advised, we're up ahead of you. Baker one-one and one-two need a ride back to Liege. More to follow once we meet up."

 _{Copy that. Jig out.}_

Handing the radio set back to the passenger of the jeep Stonewall sighs. "Alright, let's not loiter in the middle of the road, pull 'er over and we'll wait for the column."

"Why don't we use your jeep to help carry our wounded players?" Asuna suggests as she looks at the jeep, "It'll make it easier for them."

The driver nods politely as his hands tap on the wheel.

"Where are they?"

Asuna opens her map and searches for her friends' markers. Quickly scrolling through it, she locates them.

"They're roughly 230 meters from here," she reports seriously before pointing the direction. The driver does a sign to tell the small party to hop on board.

"So which way?" he asks as everyone gets in the back of the jeep.

"That way." Stonewall instructs from the back seat, resting his arm on the driver's shoulder to indicate the direction. The jeep slowly picks up speed as it heads towards its new destination. Meanwhile, the jeep crew light up some cigarettes.

"So what exactly happened at Aachen?" asks the jeep commander with an intrigued tone as smoke comes out of his mouth, "Last time I checked, we took over the place and were getting it locked down from the other team."

"The wehraboos couldn't keep their shit together and lost their flank completely, no survivors."

The commander looks at Stonewall in shock.

"Wait what?!"

A groan was heard from Lou.

"We don't know exactly what happened but they got their asses kicked in by Soviet players with IS-2's," he states, "We don't know what's going but all of sudden, smoke shells rain down, my tank gets hits by two Molotov's and the turret crew's bailing out while on fire."

"They steamrolled the right flank and hit us, then flooded into the town. All while that was happening another group cut off our route of escape." Stonewall sighs. The jeep commander looks ahead with a frown.

"Command's not gonna be happy."

"Command can kiss my ass. There wasn't shit we could do, we didn't have enough players in the town to hold it."

Stonewall's outburst stuns the other players. Kirito puts his hand on the tank commander's shoulder as the jeep drives down the road. The gunner carefully scrutinizes the horizon for any danger.

"Don't worry about it ok?" he says reassuringly, "You got your whole party out safely."

Kirito then gets a rather solemn look as he finishes saying that.

"We didn't hold the damn town though. They've got it back, and now we've gotta fight over it all over again."

Before he can say anything else, Stonewall and the jeep's occupants suddenly hear shouting from in front of them.

"Hey over here!"

It's Dick who waves his arms around. The burly player is standing alone, just outside of the woods.

"Uuh… BULLDOG!" he challenges.

"Ballyhoo!" responds Stonewall.

"POPEYE!"

"Pappy!"

Dick blows a quick sigh as he waves towards the treeline behind him.

"Finally!" he barks, "We've been waiting forever for you guys!"

The sound of rustling leaves can be heard as the other Aachen survivors emerge from the woods, weapons in hand.

"Happy to see you again Stonewall!" Nguyen exclaims as he limps towards his friend.

"Yeah. Load the wounded on the jeep. The rest of us will meet with an armored convoy that's coming through."

Nguyen nods.

"Right, we got friendlies coming in?" he asks as he hops on the jeep with Roscoe and Tony.

"Yeah. We're gonna let 'em know about the situation before they drive into a killing zone."

After the four wounded climb into the jeep the driver gives Stonewall a thumbs-up. "We'll take 'em back to Liege for you. Good luck man."

"Cheers. Get goin'." The tank commander replies, giving the driver a clap on the arm before stepping back and giving the jeep room to turn around. Within a minute the jeep is practically flying back up the road in the direction it came from, and all the remaining players watch it disappear around the bend before Stonewall slings his rifle. "Alright people. Let's make a column on either side of the road. We'll meet the tanks eventually."

After several minutes of walking, Stonewall catches a glimpse of dust drifting through the trees, and seconds later the first vehicle in the column rumbles around the bend in the road, its top being covered in infantry.

"Well look who upgraded," Stonewall mutters, watching the Churchill VII slow to a halt.

"Hello there honey! I heard you needed a lift?" The female tank commander yells at Stonewall.

"Last I checked, we aren't together anymore, so you can stop calling me honey!" The redhead commander yells back, "Aachen is lost! If you keep going you'll drive straight into an ambush!"

"We'll be fine!" She yells back with a dismissive wave. "Get yourselves a truck from the back, tell the guys in it to mount up on a tank!"

"Thanks!" Stonewall yells, throwing a wave her way before starting down the stopped column, climbing onto the first truck they reach. "Orders from the front, we're taking your truck back to Liege, you're to mount up on a tank."

The driver merely nods and opens his door, climbing out before walking around the back of the truck. "Right-o lads! Everyone out, we're changing rides!"

A dozen players stand up from the back of the truck and start climbing off. Stonewall is about to get in the driver's cabin when he hears someone talking to him. Meanwhile, the rest of the group starts moving towards the back of the truck.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you know that woman?" Agil asks, resting his MG42 across his shoulders.

"She my ex-girlfriend." Stonewall grumbles, climbing into the driver's seat. Everyone stops and looks at him awkwardly.

"Oh… sore spot man?" Klein says. "Aria looks cuter than her."

"Eh, the relationship ended terribly. She stole a bunch of my shit, so I don't much care for her."

Kirito and Asuna turn their heads towards the Churchill with an air of disgust, trying to see what the player looked like. If hair growth was any indicator, the girl had been playing for awhile. Her long blonde hair reaching down to her lower back underneath a cap.

"We're gonna keep an eye out if she's ever around us," Asuna says fiercely, "Right Kirito?"

Her boyfriend nods before answering.

"Yeah, we don't need people taking our stuff under our noses."

Upon hearing this, Leafa scoffs and throws a glare at Kirito.

"Onii-chan, do you remember that time with General Eugene?" she asks seriously. Kirito looks at her with an embarrassed look while everyone looks at the two siblings with curiosity.

"That doesn't count!" he stammers, "It was either that or the Salamanders killing us, the Cait Sith and Sylph leaders."

Asuna looks at Leafa.

"What exactly did he do?" she asks pointedly. Leafa gets an evil smirk.

"Before he rescued you from ALO, we heard from a friend of mine that the Salamanders were about to attack the Cait Sith and Sylph leaders. So we head over-"

"Leafa!" Kirito interrupts but his sibling ignores him and continues on. The rest of the gang look at her with interest.

"We head over and reach the leaders at the same time as the Salamanders. So Onii-chan decides to bluff and challenges General Eugene. Without any idea what Eugene can do. So he almost gets done in… but he uses a smoke spell to get away." Leafa explains, "We all think he ran away and next thing you know, he steals my sword!"

Asuna glares at Kirito who shrinks before his girlfriend's angry face.

"Hey, hate to burst y'alls bubble, but we gotta get a move on! Mount up!" Stonewall yells over the engine, jerking his head towards the back of the truck just as a trio of fighters zip overhead at low level, bound for Aachen with bombs and rockets visible under their wings.

Kirito nods and apologizes before leading Asuna by the hand to the back of the truck. Agil lifts Pina and Silica into the back of the truck before climbing in himself, helping everyone up prior to closing the tailgate and sitting down on one of the two benches as Stonewall revs the engine of the truck.

"All in!" Lou yells, climbing into the cab with the tank commander.

"Good. Let's get out of here." Stonewall sighs, shifting the truck into first and pulling a 3-point turn to get turned around. Once the truck is out of the way of the convoy, the dozen of tanks start forward again, and all the ALO players gawk at the long convoy of players.

After a mile, the convoy ends, fading down the road in a cloud of dust. Sinon leans forward and looks at Dick, who's sitting across from her.

"How many people play this game?"

 **Liege supply depot**

"Alright, get restocked!" Stonewall yells as he pulls down the tailgate, unaware of the two players walking up behind him until one of them claps him on the shoulder. "Stonewall! How you doing my man?!"

The tank commander's face lights up as he turns around and opens his arms for a hug. The rest of the group look at the newcomers with curiosity as they hop off the truck with Agil helping Silica and Pina off. "Dex! Mikey! I'm doing great, how're you fellas?"

"Well, we just got done with the code for some field mods that'll be open for everyone in the next patch, so we're doing pretty good." Dex responds, accepting the hug. "I see you're helping some new players?"

"Meh, it's mutual help. We just got back from Aachen. Lost my Jackson and Nguyen got barbecued, but at least we made it out." Stonewall replies with a shrug before looking back at the ALO players. "Hey y'all, meet Rhinodex and MonstrousMikey. They're part of the development team for War-Torn."

A round of introductions is gone through before Dex slaps Stonewall on the shoulder. "Anyway, We wanted to give you this for testing before we hit the sack. If it works, you can keep it. If not, I'll refund you for the tank."

Mikey opens his inventory and pulls out a rolled-up blueprint, passing it to Stonewall, who happily unravels it, then gawks at it.

' **T26E1-1, Field Mod: extra armor; RHA, Welded'**

"You fuckin' serious man? It's too late for April Fools, ain't it?"

"We're not pulling your leg. It needs testing, and we trust you the most." Mikey chuckles.

"We're 'bout as serious as your legs dude." Dex says with a genuine expression, making Stonewall wince.

"Alright alright, I'll try it out. Just keep quiet 'bout that, alright? I ain't told 'em."

Another voice catches everyone's attention.

"Hey guys!" Nguyen says with a grin as he waves. He arrives from the aid station with Aria, Roscoe and Tony following him. Both look in better shape than when they were last seen. Their uniforms are look new and any signs of injuries are gone.

"We miss anything?" he asks, with his weapon slung.

"Yeah. Not hearing your shitty voice bitch!" replies Lou with a smile as he and his fellow crew members move towards Nguyen, "Happy to see again man."

The assistant driver and tank commander high five each other followed by other similar greetings between the tank crew.

"Speaking of bitches… you must have ran into one outside of Aachen too Stonewall?" Nguyen asks dryly, "Idiot didn't want to listen to me."

"Yeah, I did. She still doesn't listen worth a damn."

His friend snorts and nods.

"Hey Nguyen! Got a present for ya'." Mikey yells as he walks over. The Canadian-Vietnamese and his fellow crew members raise eyebrows. The player and dev shake hands.

"Oh nice," he says with a smile, "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Well, we need a guinea pig for the new Concrete armor field mod for the M4A3E8, and you happen to fit the bill, so congratulations." Dex chuckles, handing the Canadian a blueprint. The Canadian glares at him for a second before smiling again.

"Gee, thanks man," Nguyen says with a grin. His crew all share the same gleeful expression as their commander looks through the plans, "I like this… very nice."

"No problem, any time. Oh yeah, Stonewall by the way, we got the recoil on the FG42 tweaked right," the dev adds, still smiling, "Hope you'll like it."

"FINALLY!" Stonewall cheers, running towards the supply tent with Aria hot on his heels.

"Wait for me dammit! I want one too!"

All the players nearby that heard the exchange laugh softly before Agil speaks up, still incredibly amused. "So is there any difference between the MG42 and the FG42?"

"Oh yeah, lots of difference. The FG is more like an assault rifle or a battle rifle. You'll see it when he comes back out. It's also one of his favorite rifles, and he was quite riled up because we couldn't get the recoil correct." Dex responds, opening up his inventory and reading a message.

"First it was too much, and he complained that it kicked like a mule, and then it was too little." Mikey sighs, "Picky bastard…"

"You make it sound like you know him pretty well." Klein states, standing nearby with his Thompson slung on his shoulder and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Well I'd like to think so, he's the guy whose help made this game possible, and he only lives a short drive from our studio. He helped us with getting most of the recoil and function on the allied guns correct. Dude's got some amazing connections." Dex muses, looking over at Mikey. "By the way, Alice insists she needs our help with the jamming coefficient for the Type-92."

"Oh for the love of- FINE! The damn thing's a piece of sh-" Mikey grumbles.

"I know how you feel about it. Let's go." Dex interrupts him, starting to drag him away before yelling back at the players.. "Oh, by the way, there's snow coming in from both the North and East, so it's gonna be a nasty winter! Stay warm y'all!"

As the two developers walk away, gunfire can be heard from the firing range, and all the ALO players file towards the supply depot to get restocked on ammunition and supplies. Behind them, the tankers of _La Montréalaise_ all band together and follow, giving the new players enough privacy to produce an early verdict on whether they like the game or not. The Canadians are happily bantering with each other.

"So how do you guys like this game?" Sinon asks with excitement, "I'm having so much fun."

The rest of the ALO players smile as well.

"This reminds me so much of my first video games and how they were meant to be played," Agil says enthusiastically, "I think we can alternate between here and ALO."

"What about you Asuna?"

"It's more intense than anything we've played together before… But I like it." The medic muses, adding a nod with her verdict. "What about you, Kirito-kun?"

"I had a lot of fun," Kirito says with a grin, stretching his arms, "I can't wait to get a bounty on my head too. It'll be a nice challenge to fend off the guys trying to collect it,"

Leafa looks at her brother, her eyes rolling. "Of course you would Onii-chan. About this game though, I'm having lots of fun even though it's different. I wonder how I can get into a plane."

Sinon beams at her friends' positive comments.

"I had a freakin' blast," Klein says enthusiastically between puffs, "Like when I hosed down that bunch of Soviets. Didn't stand a chance against me! Can't wait for my next mission."

Silica pets Pina affectionately as she answers.

"I really like it here too. It was scary at first but when I got the hang of it, it turns out it was lots of fun," she says happily as her companion licks her face, "So does Pina. We should come back again."

Liz has a mischievous grin on her face, rifle slung on her shoulder.

"I really like blowing stuff up," she adds with a evil voice as she cracks her knuckles, "I can't wait to blow up more losers like I did."

The former blacksmith already imagines new ways of surprising the other team's players with her traps.

"So! Y'all gonna stick around?" Stonewall asks, walking up to the group with a new rifle in his hands. The ALO crew all nod in agreement.

"We've had a lot of fun with you guys," Kirito answers with a warm smile, "So we'll definitely be coming back soon."

"We'll add you guys to our contacts list and keep into touch with you." Nguyen adds, "You guys did freakin' well on your first day."

"Unlike someone here," chuckles Dick before trying to mimic a higher pitched voice, "Oh no! They're everywhere. Please save me! Oh my god! I peed in my pants!"

"Fuck you! I don't talk like that!"

 **Authors' endnote:**

 **Goodalwayswins98: That went better eh? Hope you guys had as much fun reading this as the characters had playing it. If only War-Torn was real…**

 **Please review this new installment… it encourages us so much. Special thanks to** **K2-Black-Panther. Your reviews rock mate!**

 **SirStonewall: …. Gotta say, I'm looking at this, and I like how it's going. Leave reviews! That's the best way to get another chapter sooner rather than later. If there's a certain weapon or vehicle you want to see included, let us know, we'll shoehorn it in….** **Somewhere…. somehow.**

 **Next chapter: Up a creek...**


	4. Up a Creek

**Authors' note and disclaimer: This is a collab fic with SirStonewall. SAO and its characters don't belong to us but to Reki Kawahara. We are merely playing in the world he created. Stonewall and his crew belong to SirStonewall while the crew of "** _ **La Montréalaise"**_ **belong to me.**

 **Thanks to everyone for the reviews. We know y'all asked for more Kirito, but we haven't gotten there yet. Next chapter, promise. Thank you all for the reviews, and keep dropping more if you like the chapter. As I mentioned last chapter, if there's a piece of equipment or weapon you want to see used, put a request in a review! As always, enjoy. - SirStonewall**

 **While Kirito isn't leading the show… we're already giving him more screen time. Hope you guys have fun reading this and please review… things are more fun for everyone that way.**

 **Our idea for this fic is really just based around the fact that the SAO gang are enjoying a new game and going on different missions and assignments.**

 **-Goodalwayswins98**

 **Chapter 4: Up a creek...**

Several days after their first taste of action in War-Torn, the gang all manage to have free time at the same time, and log in, looking forward to getting into some action with Stonewall and his friends. They all load in at the Liege teleport pad, to find that the ground is covered in snow, and the air carries a cold and numbing bite. The sky is rather cloudy as snow falls slowly. A light wind can be heard as well. The other players all sport heavy winter coats as they march through the snow towards the front or mill around the city. Some have set little fires around to keep warm in the cold, chilly air.

"Howdy y'all!" A familiar voice yells, causing them all to turn and look at the white-clad soldier.

Beneath an odd helmet is a familiar face, puffing away at a cigarette with a FG42 slung on his shoulder.

"Hello Stonewall!" Asuna says happily, giving a slight shiver and pressing into Kirito for his warmth.

"Come on, let's get all y'all some warm gear." He chuckles back, waving them towards the supply tent. Everyone quickly follows behind him, and the American flicks the cigarette into the snow before pushing open the tent flap and motioning everyone inside.

"What's with your getup man? You look like the old man." Klein asks with mist coming of his mouth, earning a friendly smack on the helmet from Agil.

"This is a german Fallschirmjager setup. German paratroopers essentially. I'm trading in my tank for a little bit."

"Why? I thought you loved your tank."

"I do, but every armored column that rolls out past Aachen gets blasted to smithereens. There's a pair of railway guns a couple miles behind enemy lines that need killing." He responds, walking up to the supply officer.

"Good day sir, what can I get you?" The NPC asks, holding a clipboard.

"These seven need winter clothes, camouflage is preferred."

"Yes sir." The NPC replies as winter jackets and other items appear on the table. "The snow sure snuck up on us eh sir?"

"That it did." Stonewall chuckles with a smile as he purchases the clothing, turning back to everyone and handing them their stuff one by one. Each of them received a light beige trenchcoat, a scarf, thick wool gloves and winter boots.

"So this railroad gun…What exactly is it? How well guarded is it?" Kirito asks, putting on his trenchcoat and relishing in the familiar weight.

"Well, it's the region guard, a gigantic artillery piece on rails. There's an entire tank company dedicated to guarding it, and probably twice as many infantry, as well as two anti-aircraft battalions. The 82nd tried to destroy it yesterday morning and failed miserably."

"How many people is the 82nd?" Asuna asks, putting on her jacket.

"Twenty-nine people."

"And you're going to try?" Klein asks in disbelief.

"Not by myself no, but I'm trying to find people that are willing to come along."

"Well you can count us in!" A familiar voice yells outside, just as the tent flap is pushed open to reveal Nguyen and his boys, all clad in infantry winter gear and carrying their personal weapons. The Vietnamese tank commander smiles as he high-fives his American friend.

"I thought you went to help Rift with the attack on Bourges?" Stonewall asks, scowling at the Canadian.

"They said they didn't need us, and sent us back up here," he says with a smile, "Something about having manpower to spare. Lovely weather too… reminds of real life Montreal in December."

"I'm not gonna argue with it. I've got three days to come up with a plan and execute it." Stonewall sighs, "Then I've also gotta get the group together for it."

"Shouldn't the battalion command pick people for it?" Lou asks.

"Well, since I told the battalion commander to go fuck himself after he bitched at me for failing to hold Aachen, I'm having to do everything for this operation." Stonewall chuckles, looking over at the ALO players. "So what d'ya'll say? Wanna go behind enemy lines and raise some hell? I'd be willing to train y'all with your weapons some more, and I'll buy you the mission-appropriate equipment."

"Stonewall, speaking of weapons, do you think I could try yours?" Klein asks, eyeing the FG42 with interest.

"The firing range is open, Sir." The supply NPC replies to Klein, motioning towards the tent flap leading to the range as Stonewall nods.

"Come on, I'll show you how to work it."

As the two players walk out of the tent, Lou looks at those remaining, noting the significant lack of extra anti-tank weaponry.

"Hey uh… think maybe we should have more than one person with AT?"

"Probably." Agil responds, hefting his MG42. "Won't be me though, I've got enough gear on me as it is."

"It'll be more weight for me," Sinon adds seriously, "I don't think carrying AT weapons would fit my playstyle."

Nguyen looks at the brown haired sniper and nods.

"Yeah, non. You're better off keeping your head down and sniping people as well as pulling recon duty. You'd probably be able to take enemy commanders too."

Dick merely shrugs and grunts as he heads to the supply clerk.

"I'll get a bazooka."

After a few moments looking through the list, a Panzerschreck appears on the counter in front of Dick. Nguyen looks at him in curiosity.

"Bro?"

Dick picks up the Panzerschreck, checking down its sights with a satisfied smirk.

"It's bigger so it'll blow bigger shit up." he answers gruffly, "Got a problem fucking big shit up?"

"Hmm, Fair enough," Nguyen replies with a smile, just as Klein and Stonewall start shooting on the gun range.

"So what will everybody else carry?" Roscoe asks, looking at the ALO group.

"Panzerfaust 60's." A feminine voice replies from outside, just as Aria pushes open the tent flap and steps inside, wearing Fallschirmjager gear like Stonewall.

"Why not 100's?" Nguyen suggests, "In case we run into heavy armour."

"100's will work too, some form of panzerfaust that isn't the 30." She responds, walking over to the supply clerk. "I need eighteen magazines of FG42, four Stielhandgranate, four Nebelhandgranate, and a SRC-300."

"Yes ma'am. Would you like all of that transferred to your inventory?"

"Everything except the SRC-300. Put that on the table." Aria responds before her previously empty magazine pouches and bandolier fill with ammunition and grenades. A green radio pack pops into existence on the table, and she puts it on her back, making sure she's able to unsling her FG42 without any trouble. As for Nguyen and his crew, they wear American winter kit along with M1 helmets. Brown trench coats, wool scarves and gloves replace their tank uniforms. They each requisition additional ammunition, extra rations and emergency first aid kits.

Before long, the shooting in the range stops, and the two players walk back in.

"Okay! I really like that gun!" Klein cheers while Stonewall walks over to the supply clerk where the Canadian tank crew are looking over their new acquisitions.

"Copy my gear to the letter and put it on the table. I'll pay for it."

"Yes sir." The clerk replies, supplying the gear as the requisition points disappear from Stonewall's inventory. "Anything else, sir?"

Stonewall briefly looks back at the group, thinking for a moment before turning back. "Three crates of Panzerfaust 100's… and... four bundle grenades."

Kirito's head perks up at hearing "bundle grenades".

"Bundle grenades?" he asks as he moves up next to Stonewall, "What are those?"

"They're anti-tank grenades, basically one of these grenades I have on my belt, with six other grenade heads strapped to it. Very basic, but effective." explains the American as he points to one of his grenades.

"You can also use them against people," Roscoe adds, "Takes a good arm but anyone inside in a room, trench or foxhole won't have a nice day after that."

"Well yeah, because there won't be much of a room left." Aria snarks, grabbing Stonewall's attention.

"Oh, hey! You're home!"

Tony lets out a small laugh as a nostalgic look appeared on his face.

"Yo remember that time in Caen?" he says with enthusiasm, "When Dick chucked one of those down a basement?"

Roscoe and Lou roll their eyes in annoyance at this.

"And almost brought the whole building down on us." sighs Roscoe as he shakes his head.

Dick looks at them with a disgruntled look.

"Fuck you assholes. At least I got the fucking battalion commander and his entire staff." he replies as he gets away from the supply clerk.

"See, you can't argues with results," adds Tony with a laugh while finalizing his requisition. The tankers, now infantrymen, move to another corner of the tent where they start inspecting their gear and guns.

Stonewall sighs at their bickering and waves Klein over to the table where his new equipment is sitting. "Put all this shit in your inventory, then swap it out for what you have now."

The ex-samurai does as he's told, swapping all the webbing and clothes out for the Fallschirmjager equipment, then he grabs his FG42 off the table and stands in front of a mirror. "Hey, this is comfortable, and looks cool! Alright!"

"Alright people, let's head over to the explosives range. Y'all need practice with anti-tank weaponry." Stonewall yawns, stretching his arms above his head. The Canadians nod in agreement.

"We're probably the best people to teach you how to use them," Nguyen boasts proudly as he rests a Panzerfaust 100 on his right shoulder, "Using tanks teaches you pretty well how to kill them."

Stonewall nods in agreement, picking up a crate of Panzerfausts by himself. "Someone grab the other crates and follow me."

Dick and Agil grab the two other crates and pick them up easily before following Stonewall to the explosives range. The rest of the group follow close behind, noting the tank wrecks that are downrange when they stop along a line of sandbags. The sound of explosions can be heard around as another group of players test out explosive weapons.

"Alright people, listen up!" Stonewall yells over the noise, putting down his crate and flipping open the lid, retrieving a Panzerfaust before holding it up to show everyone. "This is what we'll be using as our light anti-tank."

"Allow me to demonstrate, ladies and gentlemen," Nguyen declares while he saunters up next to Stonewall. Moving the Panzerfaust from his shoulder and holding it in his hands,

"First, you remove the safety pin," he instructs in a very serious voice while going through the necessary movements, "You then raise the sight. In doing so, the weapon is armed. Do not do this needlessly. I saw players blow themselves up thinking it was a good idea unsafing the Panzerfaust before accidentally hitting the trigger. Needless to say, they had very bad days after that"

He then crouches, resting the weapon on his shoulder and pointing at a target downrange.

"This is how you hold it before firing. Tube rests on your shoulder or can be inside your armpit. Before firing, make sure no one's behind it and that you have roughly 4 meters clear behind you… otherwise, it'll be a mess. You aim using the squares here and by guessing the range." A few surprised exclamations were heard, "To shoot, squeeze this." He says before squeezing the trigger.

A small blast sounds out with a blast of flame out the base of the tube, and suddenly the large head of the weapon is gone. Seconds later, a Sherman further downrange explodes in a cloud of smoke and snow.

"I'll be damned Nguyen, you actually hit something for once." Stonewall mutters, looking through a pair of binoculars at the Sherman. A large, black hole scars the side of the tank.

"That's how you kill a tank with this thing." Nguyen says, beaming, as he discards the tube and gets up, "So who wants to practice?"

After a few hours, and many disposable launchers, the former ALO players finally get the hang of their new weapons. Agil manages to understand the fastest, but meanwhile everyone realized that giving a Panzerfaust to Silica was a last resort given how nervous she got.

Once practice is over, Aria takes a truck off to round up some players for the raid, and Stonewall leads everyone to a tent tucked back in the woods, meeting a couple players bearing the same insignia on their shoulders as he does.

"Welcome to platoon HQ." Stonewall mutters, stepping inside the tent and moving to a table covered with maps, flags, pencils and counters. Behind the briefing table, there's a blackboard and a corkboard with various pictures pinned on it. Along one wall are tables stacked high with radio equipment, a chair behind each of the six microphones. Along the other wall, military bunk beds occupy most of the space, some bunks occupied by logged-out players.

"Alright. Here's the plan, gather 'round." Stonewall instructs after scowling at one of the logged-out players. "Here in Bergheim is the 800 millimeter railway gun Schwerer Gustav."

Murmurs could be heard across the tent as the American points to a black and white picture of a massive artillery piece sitting on two parallel railroads. Around the tracks are multiple, deep craters who scar the ground. Snow appears to be filling them, meaning it's a recent picture.

"The area has been continuously pounded by bombers trying to kill the damn thing, but no luck in scoring any direct hits. This does however, mean that the rails it would normally use to scoot outta there are destroyed. We're seizing the opportunity, and we go in tonight, also known as three hours from now."

Nguyen stands up and walks up to the table. He scratches his chin as he looks at the map before clearing his throat and leaning on the table.

"How are we getting in there?" he asks.

"We're going to be joining a bomber swarm in gliders towed behind by C-47's. With any luck, we'll be able to slip in unnoticed because the Pact players and Anti-Aircraft will be busy with the bombers."

"So hiding behind their radar signature?"

"No, but we'll be far enough under the radar that they won't be able to detect us." Stonewall replies. "We're working with the 13th Paras, along with the 8th Mountaineers, and some inlaid guys of the twelfth Pioneers. They're the only wehraboos I can stand to work personally with."

Nguyen nods but Kirito raises his hand.

"Any idea what we're gonna face?"

"Good question, glad you asked. The answer to that would be no." The American replies cheerfully. "We're going in completely blind. The 82nd got their asses kicked so hard none of 'em even got a good look at what was attacking them."

The players' face all take a more serious look.

"That badly?" Nguyen asks with a raised eyebrow.

"It took eight minutes from beginning to end."

Kirito is deeply in thought, his face marked by his concentration.

"How exactly did they proceed?" he says, "Perhaps understanding what they did can give us an idea what not to do?"

"Well for starters, they did a paradrop. That left them scattered, and they couldn't bring as much equipment. The commander didn't join the jump, and monitored the situation. They tried to attack the anti-aircraft batteries to open up the window for ground attackers, and didn't regroup beforehand. Some were mauled by groups of beasts, and some were taken down by gunfire. Does that help?"

The former ALO player nods before getting a smile.

"Yeah, so it's gonna be a nice little challenge."

Nguyen cracks a knuckle and gets a realization.

"So by using gliders, we won't be scattered all over the place. Eliminating the main weak point that the 82nd had in their plan. I like it man."

Asuna raises her hand as well.

"Do you have any suggestions for any special equipment that we might not have right now?" she asks seriously.

Stonewall stares distantly at her for a second, then slaps the table with a smile and points to one of the players gathered nearby. "Go get a crate of Welrods. Ammo too."

In return he smiles and nods, giving a snappy salute. "Yes sir, I'll get some improved personal aid kits too."

He runs out with one of the other players, leaving Stonewall to continue elaborating on the plan.

"To be perfectly clear, we are to avoid contact whenever possible until we are within a reasonable distance of Gustav."

Nguyen scoffs at this.

"Indeed… I don't wanna get hit by that thing." he shudders, "I don't see anything else we can get?" He pauses for moment before a lightbulb lights up in his mind, "Maybe more demo kits and the likes? We are taking out a fucking railway artillery piece."

"The Pioneers should be bringing plenty of extra demolitions. I've got some on me, and so do the Paras."

"Alrighty… I think we should be good for that then. Maybe more rations?"

"Oh for the love of…"

The sound of boots can be heard as five dozen players were walking to their waiting gliders. The droning of engines mixed with the sound of marching while a light wind blows up some snow on the dark airstrip. The sky above is lit by a half-moon, sometimes obscured by a few dense clouds.

"How did that song go again?" Nguyen mutters from behind his squad leader, Stonewall and his fiancé. Following them with excitement were the ALO players and the crew of _La Montréalaise._

"Ah yes," he mutters again before starting to sing, "He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright..."

His terrible singing soon gets on his American friends' nerves. Aria stoops over and wheels around, smacking the tank commander with a handful of snow.

"Quit that! Your singing sucks!"

He screeches as the cold snow falls down his uniform. At the same time, Lou and Dick start laughing. The other players all have smiles on their faces as well. Bantering always makes things more entertaining.

"GAAH! TABARNAK! Fuck it was just to get us in the mood."

"Thanks Aria for saving our ears!" Lou exclaims between bursts of laugh.

Nearby, the forty or so players in Fallschirmjager equipment all laugh, toting crates into their glider and securing them. Stonewall motions for everyone to board the glider, and walks over to talk to the other glider, ensuring everyone is ready.

"Everyone got everything they need?" Aria asks, securing a box of ammunition in the center of the walkway.

The players begin going back through their inventory, making one last item check. One by one, they close their menus, signalling their readiness as Stonewall enters the glider and sits, checking his own gear.

"Gliders two and three are ready."

"Everyone in our squad is good to go," Nguyen reports from the back, "Let's get this show on the road then. You ready pilots?" The two pilots raise their thumbs.

The sound of the engines intensifies as the Waco glider starts moving forward, pulled by its C-47 towplane. Momentum builds up. The gang can see the C-47 lift off the ground, soon followed by their glider.

"This is amazing," Liz comments as they feel the vibrations of their craft moving through the skies.

"Yeah it is!" Nguyen answers from the back of the passenger compartment where he is seated with the rest of the Canadians, "You guys like it?"

Leafa smiles while she answers.

"It's different from flying in ALO. There, you're flying with your own wings unlike here where you have to rely on a plane. I'm the fastest flyer in that game," she boasts.

"Oh nice!" praises Roscoe, "How does that work though?"

"It's pretty simple really," the blonde player explains, "You have to imagine having muscles on the middle of your back moving imaginary wings. Or you can use a controller."

"Which one's better?" Tony asks in curiosity.

"Definitely the first way since you can also fight better without having a hand busy with controlling."

"It's probably hard to get the hang of non?" Nguyen asks, "Though must feel more rewarding."

Leafa smiles again.

"Yeah, I got a rather funny story with my big brother and his first time flying in ALO."

Kirito groans from the middle of the group while Asuna giggles next to him, her hand resting on his.

"Feel free to tell us all about it," the medic says.

The next moments are silent save for the sound of droning engines and Leafa's voice.

"...So as he flying towards the Sylph capital at breakneck speed, I asked him if he knew to land and Onii-Chan tells me he can't. He's going too fast for me to explain so he ends crashing face first into the highest tower before crashing into the ground."

Everyone bursts out laughing at this, with some of them holding their sides while Kirito glares at everyone with annoyance on his face.

"Kirito my man," Agil exclaims, "I wish I could have seen that."

"I'll say," Klein adds, "Never thought I'd hear about you messing up like that."

"Heh, flying sounds like it'd be a blast." Stonewall chuckles. "Especially if there's nothing but you between flying and falling."

Aria smiles and puts an arm over his shoulder. "We might have to check it out."

"Yeah. Or maybe we can put some credits towards magic engines." Lou chuckles.

"I… don't know about that." Aria replies, pulling a ring out of her inventory and putting it on her finger. "None of us have put much points into magic aside from me."

"Isn't that your Ring of Lycan?" Nguyen asks, eyeing the ring before its owner puts her glove back on.

Aria replies only with a nod as all the ALO players look at her in confusion.

"Ring of Lycan…? What is that?" Asuna asks.

"Ring of Lycanthropy. It's a dungeon reward item that you can level up. Put simply, when you put magic into the ring, it turns the user into a very intelligent werewolf." Stonewall explains. "The more magic you put into it, the more damage you'll do, and the more agile you'll be."

"It has passive effects too. Detection goes up, plus I get a fifteen point strength, endurance, and agility boost." Aria adds, rolling her shoulders.

"With bonuses like that, why do you ever take it off?" Klein asks, with nods of agreement from Sinon and Kirito.

"Because the downsides are I take 1.5x more damage when I'm human, and in a tank, it makes the noise and smell unbearable." Aria yawns.

"I noticed there was a magic skill when I checked the skill trees. How much can you do with it?" Asuna asks, her interest shared by all of the ALO players.

"Enchanted items, light illusion magic, summoning, and magic engines, which I'll say are _very_ expensive."

"How expensive?" Leafa asks, leaning forward in her seat.

"Just a hair short of a million for a decent one." Stonewall sighs while Leafa sighs in defeat.

"So expensive that I don't even consider using magic," Nguyen adds gruffly, "I ain't no wizard… my Thompson does the job good enough." He says as he pats his weapon.

"Your Thompson is loud though. Meanwhile I can dispatch a whole squad and they won't know I'm there until it's too late." Aria grumbles, playing with the ring through her glove.

Lou scoffs from his seat. The glider gently rocked left and right as it kept flying. By now, no one noticed the droning of the C-47's engines anymore.

"Not as bad as his mouth."

The crew of _"La Montréalaise"_ start chuckling at this while Nguyen glares at Lou.

"So how'd you guys meet? We've got plenty of time for a long story." Klein asks. The Vietnamese players clears his throat.

"It's a very long story. I met Dick when I was in my second year of high school. Stayed close ever since," Nguyen explains.

"Nguyen still didn't confess his love for me though," grunts Dick as he stretches his arms, "I've been putting up with him for all these years."

"Fuck you man! Must I remind you that time at Roscoe's place IRL when you were puking your guts out and telling me how much you love me?"

Dick glared at Nguyen and crossed his arms.

"Hey fuck you asshole! I never said I loved you," he barks back, "I said I was grateful to have you as a friend and I wanted you to know if I died or something."

Another sigh was heard.

"Goddammit guys, can you focus on Klein's question?" sighs Roscoe while rolling his eyes, "I met Tony here in music class back in high school."

"So you guys went to the same high school?" Silica asks curiously.

"Nah," Lou answers casually, "We all went to different schools and colleges. I met Nguyen here during a college party with common friends. A few days later, I get on the bus and I see that fucker again. Turns out we lived in the same part of town IRL."

"I more or less created the whole crew here," Nguyen explains, "I met Tony here at a college protest before he introduced me to Roscoe. We ended doing airsoft together where I invited Lou and Dick to join us before hopping on VRMMORPG's together on GGO."

"You guys had fun in GGO?" Sinon asks, "I still play sometimes on the Japanese server.

"It was fun times but it lacked a little something." Tony says, "So when War-Torn came out, we gave it a try since we're more into military stuff."

"I used to do PR for War-Torn. I met these guys working at a PR booth in Quebec." Stonewall says with a smile, nodding towards the crew of _"La Montréalaise"._

"Yeah we went to this VR convention in Montreal out of curiosity," Roscoe says as he remembers the past, "VR was just starting to come into Canada and I'm a game designer. Went there for a conference on the Amusphere to see the potential it had and how could I work with that."

"The Full Dive system and the World Seed caught my interest," Dick adds, "I work as a programmer and the challenges looked fascinating. Still amazing how they worked it all out."

"I ended up wandering around the convention. I was interested in how the technology could be used for educational purposes," Nguyen explains, "Imagine how you can use VR to allow people to visit places that no longer exist today. That's how the War-Torn booth caught my attention."

"Yeah, I saw this asian-looking dude wandering around, then he looks at me and just starts making a beeline for the booth. I figured I had a nerd who was going to criticize every aspect of the game." Stonewall chuckles. "Turns out he was more interested in the game than how accurate it was. We talked for a bit and he left, and next thing I know he's dragging three guys and a caveman towards the booth with this big shit-eating grin."

Tony, Lou, Roscoe and Dick all roll their eyes and smile, confirming the truth while everyone else has no trouble imagining who was the caveman.

"And I met Stonewall at… uh…" Aria looks to Stonewall nervously, and he smiles prior to looking at the ALO players.

"I met Aria at a physical rehabilitation center in Louisiana after I broke my back in a motorcycle accident. Took a turn on a wet road too fast and wrapped myself around a telephone pole."

"So… you healed up?" Sinon asks, looking at the seemingly able-bodied American.

"I wish I could say I did. I'm a paraplegic, it's a wheelchair for life for me."

"Then how are you..?" Asuna starts to ask before she stops in realization.

"Dex and Mikey helped. I have full functionality in War-Torn thanks to them. The miracles of VR, eh?"

Asuna nods with a sad smile.

"We once had a friend who was able to have a normal life thanks to VR," she says mournfully. Her eyes are glistening lightly as the memories rush back in her mind.

"Oh?" Nguyen asks.

"Yes, her name was Yuuki Konno. She was known as Zekken, the Absolute Sword and was the best player in ALO. Unbested by anyone in that world." Asuna explains as she leans back in her seat, "She was also one of the bravest and kindest people I met. Everyone who met her, loved her."

"She sounds like a great person… Wait a sec!" Nguyen exclaims, "Did she- What happened to her?"

"Yuuki had AIDS because of a contaminated blood transfusion at her birth. Her whole family were infected as well and she was the last one to die."

Nguyen unclips his helmet and pulls it off. He bows his head in respect.

"When I met her, she had been full-diving for two years. She volunteered to test a device called the Medicuboid." Asuna continues.

"Yeah, I know someone whose has a relative using it." Nguyen interrupts, "Simply marvelous."

"I have a friend who's using it." Stonewall adds. "Y'all might get to meet her later."

"Yes, thanks to Kirito, Yuuki was able to enjoy a normal life before dying."

Roscoe and Dick turn their heads towards the dark haired player.

"How did you do that man?" Roscoe asks in amazement, "You're still a kid no?"

Kirito shrugs.

"I created a special camera that allowed people in VR to interact with the real world," he answers, "The Audiovisual bidirectional communication probe allowed Yuuki to come to school with us and enjoy some of the things she couldn't before dying."

The original War-Torn players look at him in awe.

"Hmmm…" Stonewall hums in thought. "Think you and I could talk about that again after this mission?"

"Sure." Kirito answers.

The tranquil flight has been going on for an hour. During that time, tales had been swapped between the former ALO players and their friends in War-Torn. Then, the peaceful flight is suddenly interrupted by the sound of distant explosion and cannon fire.

"Holy shit," Nguyen mutters as he looks towards the front of the glider. He sees bright flashes light contrasting against the dark night sky. Sometimes the flashes are followed by a long trail of flames, a stricken bomber falling out of the skies. Sometimes, there are players getting out… sometimes not.

"Looks like the 8th is gettin' some." Stonewall agrees, sitting up straight in his seat. "Buckle up folks."

"One minute to drop." The pilot of the glider announces, looking back at everyone. A light above starts shining green.

"Roger that." Stonewall grumbles, fastening his harness. Beside him Aria gets up and helps the ALO players, explaining how to get out of the harness before sitting back down and strapping herself in.

"Alright people, here...we...go!" The pilot cheers, just as the wire is detached from the nose of the glider and it drops a few feet, starting a controlled descent. Whistling fills the group's ears as the glider descends. Suddenly, the glider shakes and the pilots start swearing.

"Dammit!" yells one of them as he struggles with the controls, "Wind's bit stronger than I thought!"

"A bit stronger!?" the other snaps, "We're getting blown off course!"

A few of the players pale as they hear the pilots.

"How far off course are we?" Stonewall asks, looking at a map in his lap.

"Not far yet, it's actually pushing us towards the objective."

"Well that's good… I hope."

Nguyen shakes his head.

"If we get too close, they'll spot us and blow us out of the skies."

"We can try an emergency landing at the alternate LZ, but it'll be a rough landing."

Stonewall looks at the map for a second, then nods. "Do it."

The glider starts turning towards the right as it dives towards the ground. The whistling intensifies as it picks up speed.

"Are you sure this is safe?!" Liz screeches as a queasy look appears on her face.

"It's perfectly safe if you have a good pilot!" Stonewall laughs back.

"Are these guys good pilots?!" Leafa asks, making Stonewall grin.

"Beats the hell outta me!"

"YEEHAW!" Dick yells before roaring and laughing.

"Brace for impact!" One of the pilots yell as the glider starts to ease its descent. The whistling transforms to loud crashing sounds as the glider hits the ground. It bounces over the rough ground, shaking its occupants. Sounds of things breaking start mixing in with the noise of groaning metal.

"Is this thing starting to fall apart!?" Klein shouts as he looks around nervously.

"Shut up tabarnak!" retorts a redfaced Lou, "You're jinxing us!"

The group are rocked around inside the glider as it screeches to a halt. It turns slightly to the left before completely stopping.

"Holy mack… we made it," Nguyen says in amazement.

"Unhook! Everyone out!" Stonewall orders, undoing his harness in two deft motions and standing up, readying his rifle prior to opening the side door and running out into the snow. He is soon followed by the rest of his team. They feel the chilly air as they get out of their glider with mist escaping their mouths.

"Jesus. I think we cut it a bit close." Stonewall chuckles, looking at the trees around them. The glider's left wing is touching a massive tree.

"Well… we won't have to worry about having to hide this thing eh?" Nguyen remarks as he looks around him. A Dark forest surrounds them and their glider. All is quiet, the AA guns having ceased fire and the other planes gone away. There's no sound of animals around them.

"Man, that was fun!" Kirito exclaims as he meets up with Nguyen and Stonewall, "I'd like to do that again."

"I'll keep it in mind. Let's keep the volume down now. Everyone grab a Panzerfaust from the crate and let's get a move on." Stonewall's reply is hushed, and as Aria kneels down beside him he takes a moment to scrutinize his map prior to heading back inside and grabbing a Panzerfaust. Nguyen organizes a rotation so that some players stand guard while the others go back to the glider to get a Panzerfaust. Meanwhile, Sinon climbs up a nearby tree and keeps an eye out for anything.

Within minutes, everyone is ready, and Stonewall hands Aria the handset for the radio. "Alright. The other gliders made their drop, so we've got some catching up to do."

"How far off course are we?" Kirito asks as he moves up next to Stonewall. The American kneels down and pulls out a map, shining a dim red light on it.

"We're here at the alternate landing zone. The main LZ is a kilometer to our south-east, but the rally point is only a klick to our east." He explains, laying his finger on the points in subject. "We'll meet up at the rally point, then we'll assault the gun, disable it, and get the hell outta dodge before the entire regional garrison comes crashing in on our heads."

Meanwhile, Silica looks at Pina. The dog seeming relaxed, yet alert.

"Anything unusual?" Asuna asks as she looks around the dark woods

The younger girl shakes her head.

"Pina didn't sense anything unusual yet."

Silica says as she holds her carbine. Looking over at them, Agil whispers as he checks his weapon.

"Probably they're all distracted with cleaning up after the last air raid."

As everyone within earshot agrees to Agil's theory, Aria jogs past, snow crunching under her feet, her radio antena sticking up above her head a solid two feet.

"Moving out in two minutes, rally up on Stonewall." She whispers, "Spread the word."

Everyone nods and begin moving towards where Stonewall, Kirito and Nguyen are kneeling. The three are looking over a map, and the latter two nod in agreement before the group leader puts the map in his jacket. Sinon climbs down from her tree to meet them.

"All right everyone, we're moving out," Kirito whispers, "Single file."

The group quickly forms a file before marching out through the quiet and dark forest. There's no sound except for their steps through the cold snow as they walk. Weapons in hand, everyone looks around them for anything suspicious.

"So far, it's pretty quiet," Kirito whispers to Stonewall and Nguyen.

"Rather unnerving," Nguyen answers, "lt's too quiet for more liking," he adds, tightening his grip on his Thompson.

"I'd rather it be quiet. Things being loud on a mission like this usually means things have gone completely sideways." Stonewall grumbles, checking his FG42 for the umpteenth time since leaving the glider.

"I think Agil was right," Kirito replies quietly, "The other team must be too distracted by the rest of the raid."

Nguyen grunts in approval.

"Let's hope soooo- halt. Halt!" Stonewall hisses, dropping to one knee to examine several pairs of tracks in the snow. The others quickly follow and look around anxiously, scanning the horizon with their weapons raised. "One of these is being dragged, but there's no blood."

"Something's not right here," Nguyen says as he moves up to Stonewall.

"I'll say… are there prisoner mechanics in this game?" Kirito asks as he inspects the tracks before looking back at the rest of the group, "Silica, can you come here with Pina?"

As the handler and her dog jog up to the front of the line, Stonewall looks up at Kirito. "There are, but nobody ever surrenders." Hushed murmurs can be heard behind them.

"You'd have to be a fucking idiot or noob to do that," Nguyen says contemptuously, "Maybe they patched the poor sod well enough he stopped bleeding?"

Kirito nods before turning to Stonewall.

"Do these tracks lead towards our objective?"

"In the general direction, yes."

A small hmmph can be heard from Nguyen as he places his hand on his chin, thinking about something.

"Maybe they set up a guardhouse on the way we were supposed to go." he remarks, "They might have brought him there to fully heal him and head out again."

Pina sniffs at the tracks and growls, just as a small box of text appears above her head.

"Six players passed by here… but only five are enemy?" Silica responds with confusion in her voice. Stonewall, Nguyen and Kirito gasp.

"Maybe some unlucky flyboy got knocked unconscious when he bailed?" Nguyen proposes as his eyes widen, "That's the only idea I got."

"If that's the case then we've got to save him!" Kirito argues firmly.

"Alright, just keep your voice down!" Stonewall hisses. "We'll go bail him out of trouble, but if it gets in the way of our objective we'll have to leave him. Which way Silica?" Kirito and Nguyen nod in agreement

The handler looks at Pina, then points in the direction of the rally point.

"Well… looks we were heading there anyways," Nguyen quietly remarks before smiling at Silica and Pina, "Thanks girls!"

Kirito checks over his Carbine as he nods in approval.

As they walk through the forest, following the trail, Aria moves up to the front of the line. "Contacts, straight ahead of us. Wood smoke and people."

Meanwhile, Pina's hackles are raised up as she stares in the direction the tracks are heading, backing up Aria's claim.

"Spread out." Stonewall orders, "Sinon, see if you can get eyes on what's ahead of us. Climb a tree."

"Understood."

The sniper nods as she moves towards a tall tree, scrambling up the trunk to sit on one of the branches. She spots some smoke and upon a closer look, sees a wood cabin, a dull orange light leaking through the windows. She equips her binoculars and begins scanning the cabin's window.

"I've got someone tied to a chair inside," she hisses, "They look kind of short."

"Anyone outside?" Stonewall asks, kneeling by the tree.

"...Not that I can see."

"Must be undermanned," Nguyen remarks, "Or bloody incompetent. Guys, think we can get closer?"

"There's no one outside," Sinon confirms after a few moment, "Must be undermanned Nguyen."

"Everyone, line up. We'll advance as one group. Kirito, Klein, and Liz, we're going in first."

"The rest of us'll secure the outside," Nguyen reports as he points to the rest of the group, "Sinon, if you see movement, engage them."

Slowly, everyone moves forward, staying near trees should anyone get the drop on them. Nothing happens on the approach, but as Stonewall and his breaching team line up there's laughter inside, and the dampened smell of fresh food. Nguyen's team quickly report that all is quiet around them.

Stonewall fixes the bayonet on his rifle, and Klein follows by his example before the American steps away from the door and launches himself at it, using his shoulder. The door easily gives way, and he barges in, raising his rifle to find four players in Italian uniforms sitting at a table, with a fifth halfway between a pot of pasta on a stove and the table.

The sound of a plate crashing to the floor is soon followed by the fifth player speaking, staring wide-eyed at the commandos. The rest are frozen in place, trying to understand what just happened.

"Oh shit."

A quick series of gunshots followed by yells of pain can be heard by the commandos outside. Stonewall comes out a moment later.

"Clear!"

Nguyen motions for everyone to enter.

"Smells good," he remarks as he enters the warm cabin, "Mamma mia! Turns out they were incompetent losers."

Taking a good look around, he notices the warm fire, a nicely laid out table, an open wine bottle, five glasses and dishes of pasta. Lying against the left wall are bolt-action rifles, still shining new while a large pot sat on the stove. On the ground, there's a mess of spaghetti and a broken plate. Nguyen also notices that there's no radio of any kind. The room is well furnished with a nice couch and coffee table in addition to the dining table. Kirito, Liz and Klein are each scrutinizing the place.

"Wow, they were really dangerous," Dick snidely remarks as he enters. Once Sinon gets in, they close the door to shield themselves from the cold.

"A real bunch of amateurs," Klein adds, "I don't usually play this kind of game and I know you don't do this. Cozy little place though."

Meanwhile, Asuna moves over to the stove, sniffing the contents of the pot and taking a taste.

"They completely used the wrong type of spices for this sauce," the medic says in disgust followed by laughter from the rest of the party. Silica is standing next to Pina who is cleaning the mess.

"If anyone wants a well-fed bonus… now's the time," Nguyen remarks, "Someone keep an eye on that door though." Dick nods and places himself with his shotgun pointing at the closed door.

"Oh my god… how can you be so dumb?" Roscoe exclaims, "They should have set up watch before eating."

"We're talking about Italian wannabees," Lou answers, "They need their pasta first. Anyone wants some? It's free food."

"The real dumbass here is the prisoner." Stonewall laughs, opening the door and walking into the next room which turns out to be a small bedroom with a desk. "Infantry gear, and noob gear at that!"

"Don't hurt me!" exclaims a short, dark haired player with glasses dressed in a relatively clean American uniform though it's clearly a warm weather uniform, "Or else the Alliance'll get you." The unfortunate player is tied to a chair near the door and looks nervously at Stonewall.

A series of footsteps can be heard as Nguyen enters the room.

"Kirito's taken over for me in the other room. Man learns fast-whoa what the-!?" he exclaims as he raises his Thompson.

At the same moment, the unknown player unties himself and, in a blur, equips an M1903 Springfield but with no scope. Pointing it at Stonewall, he pulls the trigger… with no results. The Vietnamese player starts laughing again.

"Okay...I'm not sure who's winning the "Idiot of the Day" prize between those five dudes or you kid." he says as he looks at the new player, "Just… just stop. You're embarrassing yourself kid."

Stonewall steps forward and grabs the rifle, wrenching it out of the player's hands easily. "Easy there kiddo. I'm just gon' take this before you shoot your eye out."

Nguyen sighs in annoyance at the kid's antics.

"Do you realize how bad you are? You got captured by the Italians… Jesus christ." he groans before looking at Stonewall. "Bro, did he forget his safety or did he forget to pull back the bolt or he forgot to load his gun?"

"He left his safety on."

"Urgh… no wonder he got captured sheesh."

The player squirms around until Nguyen glares at him to stop.

"We're Alliance players dumbass."

"Nobody surrenders in this game. So you've made a gigantic fool of yourself. Congratulations kid." Stonewall laughs, making his way out of the room with the M1903 in hand. Nguyen escorts the former prisoner out of the room who still has a nervous look on his face.

"Well we found someone alright… this kid…" he says with annoyance. The rest of the group are divided between those who guard the house and those who eat. Asuna is standing next to the stove as she adds some ingredients to the sauce. Sitting at the table are Sinon, Silica, Aria, Roscoe and Tony while the rest stand guard. Klein, Dick and Lou are guarding the doorway while Liz, Agil, Kirito and Leafa each guard a window. The two gliders pilots are sitting on the couch. As they hear their friends enter the room, they turn their head and see the rescued prisoner.

"You alright kid?" Agil asks though the player is too nervous to answer.

Leafa, standing nearest to the room, has a look of surprise appearing on her face while her eyes widen in disbelief as she sees the newcomer.

"RECON!?"

 **Authors' endnotes**

 **Well… that was an unexpected development. What's he doing here?!. I hope you enjoyed the pasta humour as much as we enjoyed writing it. The Panzerfaust going off prematurely comes from a German called Die Brücke. It's about a bunch of kids defending a small, backwater footbridge and one of them does exactly what I wrote… but the Panzerfaust goes off as he's grabbing from a crate. Needless to say, kid didn't make it. Morals of the story?**

 **Don't use untrained child soldiers. It ain't worth it and it makes difficult for everyone.**

 **Don't unsafe a weapon if you're not using right afterwards.**

 **-Goodalwayswins98**

 **Cliffhanger! Muahahaha! - SirStonewall**

 **Tune in next time for Chapter 5: Surprise visit!**


	5. Surprise Visit!

**Authors' note and disclaimer: This is a collab fic with SirStonewall. SAO and its characters don't belong to us but to Reki Kawahara. We are merely playing in the world he created. Stonewall and his crew belong to SirStonewall while the crew of "** _ **La Montréalaise"**_ **belong to me.**

 **Thanks everyone for your reviews! We take them into account and try to use your suggestions as best as we can. Kirito and co. get some love in this action-filled chapter. Enjoy your reading. -Goodalwayswins98**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and as always drop a review if there's some piece of equipment you want to see used! We appreciate all your reviews, and if everything goes according to plan there'll be more of the ALO gang, especially more Kirito, as y'all requested. K2-Black-Panther, your M2 Carbine idea has been taken into consideration. - SirStonewall**

 **Chapter 5: Surprise Visit!**

" _RECON!?"_

"Wait a minute, Leafa, you know this moron?" Stonewall asks, looking between the prisoner and Leafa.

"Yeah. We used to play ALO together, and we're in the same grade."

Nguyen raises an eye as he looks at Recon before looking again at Leafa

"This kid's in the same grade as you?!" he exclaims, "Sheesh… you're fucking more mature than him."

"HEY!" Recon nervously shouts before Nguyen stares at him and shuts him up. The boy appears to be on the verge of tears as he looks frightfully at the older player.

The American gives Recon's M1903 to Leafa and starts towards the door, sticking a cigarette in his mouth as he walks out, muttering. "Hurry up and eat y'all. We're on a timeline."

After the door closes Aria wolfs down the last of her food and gets up, offering her plate to Leafa.

"Eat. I'll take your spot."

"Thanks Aria."

Leafa nods while glaring at Recon, and takes the plate before passing the M1903 to Aria.

"You, come here." Aria snaps, pointing at Recon, then at her feet. He reluctantly walks forward, stopping in front of her with a nervous look in his eyes. She holds out his Springfield, and when he grabs it she towers over him, glaring into his eyes. "Just so we're perfectly clear, if you shoot any one of us, or you fuck up our mission, I will not hesitate to leg you and leave you. Understand?"

A cross look spreads across Kirito's face at her hostile words, but he remains silent as Recon stammers. "Y-y-yes ma'am."

Aria's threatening demeanor flips on a dime to a cheerful smile as she releases his rifle. "Good! You can use my trench coat, since you look like you're missin' your own. You got ammo?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank god," Nguyen mutters as his tankers nod in approval.

Aria opens up her inventory and materializes a US trenchcoat in her arms, holding it out to the short kid with a smile, just as her radio starts transmitting sound through the handset. She throws the coat at Recon and grabs the handset, pressing it to her ear. "This is Aria, send traffic." Listening intently for a moment while Recon puts on the warm coat, she finally acknowledges the person on the other end and puts the radio on her back. "Pick it up people. We gotta get a move on."

Those that are eating either leave the half-eaten plates of food on the table or frantically shovel the last few bites into their mouths before getting up, filing out the door one by one, with Aria prodding Recon along. Taking a brief moment after everyone is outside, Aria goes back inside the house, then quickly re-emerges, carefully shutting the door.

"Leave a present for them when they come back?" Stonewall asks, flicking his cigarette into the snow and pulling his rifle off his shoulder.

"Yeah. A Model 39 rigged on the bedroom door, and another on the front door."

"Perfect. Let's go, we're ten minutes behind schedule."

As they get moving towards the meeting point Leafa scowls at Recon from beside him, holding her rifle in both hands. "What are you doing here?"

"Well… I heard you talking about this game during lunch a couple days ago, and I... wanted to try it."

"... Okay, but what are you doing _here_?" She asks, motioning to the area around them. "How did you manage to get captured?"

"I tried sneaking through the enemy lines and they caught me by surprise when I took shelter in there. Turns out it was some player's home or guard station," Recon explains nervously.

Sighing in resignation, Leafa shakes her head softly and picks up the pace to walk in front of him, watching her surroundings carefully like everyone else. Ahead of her, Kirito, Nguyen, and Stonewall converse quietly while walking.

"Alright, so when we reach the gun, the area will probably be crawling with patrols. Kirito, would you be comfortable with leading the assault group with Nguyen acting as your advisor?" Stonewall asks, looking over at the expert swordsman. The veteran tank commander nods in approval before shaking Kirito's hand.

"You bet."

"Awesome. I'll be leading the support group, so Agil, Sinon, and I will stay behind you guys, covering as you advance. We'll do what's called bounding, so you'll move up as we cover you, and when you reach a place with good cover then you'll cover us as we move up to your position. Sound good?"

"That sounds really similar to what we do in ALO, we just calling it 'switching'," Kirito explains with a hand on his chin, "One person would launch an attack, and once they're done with that attack their partner will switch with them and launch their own attack."

"That's the exact same concept, just on a broader scale, and with guns." Stonewall confirms, "We should be coming up on the rally point here pretty soon…." No sooner does his second sentence leave his mouth than more than a dozen well-camouflaged players rise up from the nearby underbrush, aiming their rifles and SMG's at the group. The seasoned player jumps slightly, clearly startled, but relaxes after a second. "Hey y'all. Sorry we're late."

"What took you so long?" One of them asks with a hiss, lowering his FG42 and motioning for the others to do the same.

"Had to take the alternate, and we had the chance to rescue some poor noob that surrendered."

The other team leader raises an eyebrow as Stonewall points the shirking Recon.

"You sure he's not an infiltrator? No one surrenders in this game."

Stonewall chuckles and motions towards Pina and Silica, then towards Aria. "Considering the dog and Aria haven't torn him to ribbons yet, I'd say he's Alliance. He's just new, and more than a little stupid."

There's a brief silence before the other leader answers.

"Alrighty then. Let's get a move on, we're burning moonlight sitting around here. We've got three hours until the next bomber raid."

A loud, deafening sound shakes the woods, causing some of the players to jump in shock.

"Wh-what was that?" squeaks Recon as he jumps in surprise.

"That, is Schwerer Gustav, an 800mm railway gun. Our target for today." Stonewall answers.

"Just how big is that thing exactly?" Liz skeptically asks as they make their way through the woods.

"Stupidly too big," Nguyen answers while looking around, "Like the thing needs two sets of railroads side-by-side to move. Can only shoot every 30-45 minutes. Real thing needed a crapton of men to run it. How many again Stonewall?"

"Two-hundred-thirty, give or take."

"Whoa wait a minute?!" Klein exclaims while the rest of the ALO gang look in disbelief at Stonewall, "We have to take out all those people first!? That's madness."

"All of the crew are AI armed with only handguns, or not armed at all." Stonewall replies nonchalantly. "If we catch them in the reload process we should be able to get the drop on them."

"If they just fired that means we have an opening," Kirito points out as he checks the time in the interface, "We'd better hurry though."

The forty players continue their way towards their objective, carefully making sure that they are unheard. As they advance, more and more craters break up the woods, a telling sign of recent bombardments.

"Damn, that gun's a real pain in the ass," Agil utters as he looks at a rather large bomb crater, "I hope we can finish the job."

"Yeah," Asuna replies with a nod.

 **Xx-xX**

With Stonewall and Aria on point, they stop near the edge of the woods, and Aria grabs Stonewall's elbow, causing him to raise the other hand, signaling for a halt. Everyone quickly drops to a knee as they see the sight before them.

"We're supposed to take that out!?" a wide-eyed Recon hisses, "It's way too big!"

"Well look who wins a gold fucking star. Way to go Einstein, you figured it out." A nearby team leader hisses back, shaking his head and getting his team ready for the assault. A quick slap is heard as Leafa slaps Recon behind the head.

"Shut up!"

The boy winces in pain while some of the other players chuckle at his predicament.

After a brief moment, Stonewall waves Kirito and Nguyen forward, and the trio crawls through the snow to a fallen tree, peeking over the snow-covered bark.

"Alright, uh…" Stonewall mutters, pulling out his binoculars and looking at the open patch of ground between them and the massive railway gun. His friends raise their weapons in preparation. "There's a couple MG's… but other than that… most of 'em aren't armed."

"They probably don't think we're here," Kirito remarks with a predatory grin, looking at the distant enemies, "Those five guys we got in that cabin weren't doing a very good job of guarding."

Nguyen nods at this.

"Yeah, dumbasses…What's your plan bossman?"

"... See that patch of downed trees? That's going to be our bounding point. Secure that, and we'll move up from here. This has gotta be hard and fast, so don't let them bog you down."

Kirito nods in understanding.

"Don't worry, they won't know what hit them," he answers confidently. Nguyen smiles at this.

"Attaboy… let's do this shit!"

Looking back over his shoulder, Stonewall waves the other team leaders forward and assigns them areas to assault from, then sends them off, quickly waving forward the rest of the team.

"Alright folks, this is it. Agil, Sinon, and whatever the fuck your name is." Stonewall hisses, pointing at Recon for the latter part of his sentence. "We're going to set up here and cover everyone else's advance."

"Alrighty, let's kick ass!" Nguyen declares.

"Let's give the other teams a couple minutes to get into position. Sinon, you get to start this party." Stonewall continues, pulling boxes of MG42 ammunition out of his inventory. "Agil, set up on this log."

The dark skinned player quickly deploys his bipod and gets into position while Sinon moves to some nearby bushes. Meanwhile, Asuna, Leafa, Liz, Klein, Silica and the crew from _La Montréalaise_ move up behind Kirito and Nguyen. Aria gives her SRC-300 to Stonewall and gives him a peck on the cheek before joining everyone else.

Prone in the snow, Sinon carefully scrutinizes the area for a target of opportunity. She suddenly spots a group of soldiers around large cloth cylinders behind the massive gun, moving them onto a trolley to be pushed to a lift at the rear of the gun.

"Hey Stonewall, I'm seeing some people pushing these big bags towards the target," she whispers.

"Really?" The American hums, looking through his binoculars. "Oh fuck yes- shoot one of those ba-!"

A gunshot cuts him off followed by a large explosion. Sinon calmly cycles the bolt as she sees the blast engulf the group of NPC's followed by shouting and blaring klaxons. A multikill experience and requisition bonus appears on her display.

"Let's go everyone!" Kirito shouts as he and his team rise to their feet and dash forwards.

"LET'S GO GET THE BASTARDS!" Nguyen roars as he follows his friend.

Agil opens fire with long bursts from his MG as everyone jumps up, and Stonewall assists in feeding the weapon while simultaneously directing his fire to discourage any enemies from firing. In the woods to their right and left, similar withering fire is directed at the NPC's near or on Gustav, cutting down any that are too slow or are too far from solid cover.

Gunshots resonate through the area as the various teams begin assaulting the Gustav. Kirito leads his friends across the open field, jumping from cover to cover. Sometimes it's crates and it's craters. He divides his team into two groups. Under his command are Asuna, Klein, Aria, Tony and Dick while Nguyen leads the other group with Liz, Silica, Lou, Roscoe and Leafa.

Kirito's squad makes to a pile of crates.

"COVERING!" he shouts back towards Nguyen's team. The other player answers with "MOVING!" as his team dashes forward. Kirito and his team begin firing at the same time, taking out NPC's with ease.

"I really like this thing," Klein exclaims with a grin as he cuts down an unfortunate NPC that was fighting back with a K98K. The FG-42 fits comfortably in the former Samurai's hands as he fights. The sounds of gunfire echoes loudly yet the leaders keep their cool. Kirito directs his section's fire.

"Asuna, on the left!" he calls out before he hears the familiar sound of engines from his front. His girlfriend shifts her fire and cuts down some unfortunate NPC. Looking at the source, Kirito spots a tank with an open turret with a single barrel. Firing its gun with a rhythmic thudding off towards the right flank.

"Ostwind! Anti-tank to the front!" Aria yells, readying her Panzerfaust from inside a bomb crater.

"We need to stop that thing!" Kirito shouts, "It's wiping out one of the other teams."

"I gotcha covered alright?!" Dick barks as he equips his Panzerschreck and aims. Meanwhile, Aria stands up and fires her Panzerfaust at the tank, but the warhead falls short by mere feet. The blast doesn't faze the crew who keep engaging them and pinning them down.

' _So that's where the flak units were…'_ Nguyen mentally grumbles as he and his team take cover in a crater occasionally firing back.

"You guys alright!?," shouts Lou towards Kirito's team.

"Looks like they really don't want us destroying that gun!" Liz shouts back as she huddles behind some rocks, "We can't move!"

Beside the Ostwind, infantry dismount from a pair of trucks and start to move past it, only for a burst from Agil's MG42 to send them all scrambling for cover as a couple of their less fortunate comrades get cut down.

"Good shit! Shift fire right more, get those guys trying to get behind the Ostwind!" Stonewall yells over the noise of the battle, peeking up over the log with binoculars.

Agil shifts his fire as instructed, cutting down three more soldiers before the turret of the Ostwind quickly slews over to face them.

"Dammit!" the machine gunner swears as he rolls into cover behind the log.

"Down!" Stonewall yells, laying prone behind the log as 37mm rounds zip overhead, utterly destroying the forest behind them. Recon however, doesn't lay down, and instead yells out Leafa's name before standing up and firing at the tank with his rifle.

"I said DOWN you-" Stonewall starts to yell, only to be interrupted as the autocannon shells find their mark in the rookie's chest, dropping his HP to zero instantly while tearing him to shreds before he can fire again, sending pixelated pieces flying everywhere. Recon barely has the time to scream in pain that he disappears in a trail of pixels. "Dumbass…"

"Idiot," Agil mutters as he covers his head from the shrapnel from the trees being hit by the 37mm shells.

Meanwhile, in a nearby bush, Sinon looks at the Ostwind through her scope. Noticing that it's an open top vehicle, she spots a player standing up on the back of the turret and looking where Agil, Stonewall and the long gone Recon were hiding. The player scans the horizon around him and barks a few words to his crew. Sensing an opportunity, she holds her breath before squeezing the trigger of her Springfield rifle. Her single shot flies true and hits the player in the head. His helmet flies off as he falls out of the back of the turret before disappearing. Before the crew can figure out what happens, Sinon spots a brief trail of smoke followed by the Ostwind being engulfed in an explosion.

 **Xx-xX**

"Told you I get it done!" boasts Dick as he unequips his Panzerschreck and pulls out his trench gun. The elimination of the Ostwind also disorients their enemy which lessens their fire.

Aria quickly stows her rifle in her inventory, capitalizing on the disorientation and chaos of the exploding tank as she runs forward. "Let's get 'em! CHARGE!" Seconds after her yell, she's surrounded by a large cloud of darkness that seems the broil around her for a second before dispersing, revealing a seven foot tall werewolf that charges straight at the enemy with little regard for its own safety.

"COVER HER!" Nguyen shouts to his squad before opening fire. The hail of gunfire and the sudden appearance of the monstrous creature causes some of their enemy to drop their weapons and run or seize in fear.

Seeing this, Kirito senses an opportunity as he sees a gap in the enemy's defenses.

"LET'S GO EVERYONE!" he orders before letting out a battlecry and drawing his sword. Another yell from the back can be heard as Nguyen stands up and motions his team forward.

Invigorated, everyone who was previously laying in cover jumps up, those who can mount bayonets lock them into place on their weapons and join Kirito in the charge as Aria tears into a squad of infantry. Her roars soon mix with cries of pain and horror as the players and NPCs are rendered limb from limb. Behind her, Dick stabs a player that she missed with the bayonet on his shotgun, then pulls it out and shoots two more in rapid succession, swearing and roaring in gleeful bloodlust.

"This is how it's meant to be played!" he roars as he blasts a fleeing player before laughing again.

Meanwhile Liz and Leafa both run together, with the shorter Silica behind them. The trio fire as they advance, taking out NPC's and players. Pina jumps on a player and knocks him to the ground, where she brutally rips his throat out. At the same time, Klein fires as he advances, taking out other enemies. As he advances, the former samurai almost runs into an enemy player. Before his opponent can do anything, Klein slams his stock of his FG42 into the player's face, knocking him to the ground before Klein shoots him in the face with a short burst. On their front, four players tries to set up an MG42 and its heavy tripod. Spotting them, Kirito shouts before leaping forward with his sword proudly raised and gleaming in the moonlight. Distracted by the incoming swordsman, some the crew drop what they're carrying. Kirito's first blow strikes one of the players in the neck, dropping his HP instantly. Another tries to draw his Luger but a strike from Kirito separates his hand from his wrist followed by a deadly slash that eliminates him. The third player tries to run before the swordsman's assault. A sword juts out from his chest as Kirito runs him through the heart before the player falls forward in a trail of pixels.

"Look out Kirito!" yells a feminine voice. The swordsman turns and sees the barrel of the MG42 pointing at him. The player looks at him with anger.

"I have you now motherfuck-!" shouts the machine gunner before being pierced by a dozen bullets and disintegrating with a pain filled look on his face. Looking over, Kirito sees Asuna with a smug look on her face.

"Watch out dummy," she says quickly before turning back to the battle.

"HOLY SHIT! WE'RE GETTING SHIT DONE!" Nguyen shouts as his team rushes forward. He can see Aria and Kirito's assault team have made it to the base of the gun while scattering the defenders. The werewolf is on the second gantry, only being seen in short moments as NPC's are thrown over the railing, most missing large chunks of their person.

"After her!" Kirito urges as he climbs up the ladder followed by Asuna, Liz and Dick.

"We'll make sure no one follows you guys up here!" Klein shouts as he takes a knee. With him are Silica and Leafa who stand guard at the bottom of the ladder, making sure that no enemy players can get to them. The rest of the group are taking cover behind nearby obstacles and setting a small perimeter.

Kirito and his team dash forward, occasionally shooting at the enemies standing on the other gantry. In front of them, Aria is clearing the way towards the breech of the Schwerer Gustav.

"You got your explosives ready lady?!" Dick barks at Liz. The engineer nods before answering.

"You don't need to ask twice!"

The commandos finally catch up to Aria as they reach the breech. The werewolf grabs one last NPC by the middle and worries him like a dog would a stuffed toy, shaking her head from side to side before throwing him off the gun, then looking back at everyone as she's once again surrounded by the broiling darkness. Once the ball of magic disappears, she's back to normal, dressed in her Fallschirmjager equipment. Gunshots still resonate through the area as tracer fire can be seen every now and then.

"Alright Liz, We're gonna need all the thermite you've got." She instructs, retrieving her rifle from her inventory. The brown-haired player quickly opens her inventory and starts scrolling down to find four thermite grenades. Selecting them, Liz materializes four grey cylinders in her hands.

"Got'em! What now?"

"Good." Aria hums, walking over to the breech mechanism and starting to close it, leaving it partially open. "Place three in there, and pull the pin on the fourth before putting it in there."

The engineer follows the instructions to the letter as she stuffs them in the breech before pulling the pin on the last one, tossing it in before Aria fully closes the breech.

"Alright, now let's fall back to Stonewall and Agil." She orders. "Quickly!"

Suddenly, the breech starts glowing red hot, and everyone in the raid teams suddenly sees a notification appear on their screen.

 **Region guard disabled!**

 **Battle time bonus +80% EXP and RP**

 **Raid bonus +5% EXP**

"Good job everyone!" Asuna praises as her group quickly get off the disabled gun and meet up with Klein, Leafa and Silica.

"Hell, let's get our asses of here!" Nguyen shouts from his position, "Before reinforcements show up!"

The sound of multiple engines rumbling down the road quickly registers to everyone, spurring them to start moving across the open ground, back towards Stonewall. Aria and Leafa are the rearmost people in the group. Lights suddenly dazzle the group.

"What..?!" Aria mutters before turning around. "Oh shit! Leafa! Panzerfaust!"

"What's going on back there!?" Kirito shouts between breaths.

"Enemy reinforcements!"

The blonde player is swift on the draw as she quickly materializes a Panzerfaust from her inventory while running. She leaps behind some crates before shouldering the rocket launcher and firing at the source of the light. An explosion quickly replaces the yellow glare of lights with the orange haze of fire, followed by the rapid-fire popping of ammunition cooking off and two trails of pixels flying off. Taking a quick glance, Leafa sees what appears to be a large car burning before running off with the rest of the group.

As they arrive at the woods and meet with the support team, Nguyen notices something.

"Where the fuck is Dorkenstein?"

"Over there… over there… and probably up in that little fir there." Stonewall grumbles as he points to various places around them.

"Oh good lord...37mm?" Nguyen groans.

"'Bout half a dozen of 'em, yeah. Dumbass stood up while it was firing at us."

"Oh boy… thank god it wasn't a 75mm or an 88mm." he says before looking at Leafa who was catching her breath, "Was he this bad in ALO?"

"Not really, he had his moments though."

"He must have some really bad moments though. The dork went full retard, stood up while it was firing at us and _fired his rifle at a fucking tank_."

Some of the War-Torn veterans started laughing.

"I hate to break up the party, but we have about a platoon of infantry coming at us, so it would be smart if we, y'know, _got the fuck out of here_?" Aria points out, putting her SRC-300 on her back.

Kirito and Asuna nod in agreement.

"Let's go!" Kirito says before the group make their way out, being followed by the other teams. Making their way through the forest, they can hear the distant sound of burning mixing with the sound of crunching snow and engines behind them.

"Three tanks, two halftracks, and a scout car." Aria reports, listening to the engines.

"How far are they?" Klein asks, mist forming as he talks.

"Roughly three hundred meters. They're stopping at the treeline."

"These woods are probably too thick for them," Lou remarks as he vaults a fallen tree, "They won't be able to follow us."

"Except if they have a dozer blade cause fuck us," snorts Dick.

"Hey, cut it out with that." Agil interrupts, "We don't need that kind of bad luck."

Aria grunts in acknowledgement and grabs the handset from her radio, pressing it to her ear as she walks. "Casper this is Aria, We need those Hamilcars at the primary LZ. We'll be there in five, over." Listening for a moment, she mutters curses under her breath and rolls her eyes before talking again, sounding moderately irritated. "No, you asshole. I never knew! Just get us those damn gliders!... I don't care how, just make it happen! Aria out."

Nguyen looks at her nervously.

"What's going on with our escape plan?"

"The pilot who's supposed to be flying us our gliders is getting cold feet because there's night fighters in the area." She grumbles. "He's concerned because he's not gonna be in a swarm that they're going to pick him off."

Nguyen's jaw drops.

"Wait… does this mean we're stuck here?" Kirito asks seriously.

"Nope. he'll come through for us. He's never failed us in the past."

"... I trust you on this." Nguyen answers as he quickly glances behind them, "Everything looks clear… Hey Silica! Pina got anything?"

The dog handler quickly takes a look at her companion before shaking her head.

"No one's following us!"

Kirito and Nguyen look at each other and sigh in relief as they keep making their way forward to the evacuation point with the rest of their group.

"I've got nothing too. They've given up I think." Aria mutters.

"Smart move on their part. Still, let's pick up the pace. LZ is this way." Stonewall chuckles, starting to jog a little faster.

Aria suddenly giggles, dismissing a notification. "Booby trap got three guys."

The rest of her group look at her in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asks.

"The house I booby-trapped earlier? One of the grenades just killed three players."

Nguyen and Lou start chuckling.

"The pasta place?" Lou says between chuckles, "With the Italian dudes?"

"Probably went to try and get back their pasta," Nguyen remarks, "To be honest, it was pretty good pasta."

"Only after Asuna made her changes." Aria mutters. Asuna beams at this.

"Doesn't anyone know how to cook in VR?" Asuna adds sarcastically, "For your information Nguyen, those idiots completely messed up the recipe. I was lucky that they had the ingredients in that house to fix it."

The Vietnamese merely shrugs.

"To be honest… I don't exactly have a very well developed sense of taste," he answers flatly, "Both IRL and in VR."

Asuna glares at him in disgust and muttered something about not knowing good taste.

Stonewall, in the meantime, merely shakes his head. "Nguyen?"

"Ouaip?"

"Just shut up, before you get yourself slapped."

 **Author's afterword:**

 **Well that was fun to write. Hope you all had fun reading it. I must say… Kirito's a fast learner eh? Poor Recon though… kudos to K2-Black-Panther for the character nickname too. Made me laugh. As always, please read and review… we enjoy reading them and take suggestions into account. -Goodalwayswins98**

 **To be entirely honest, obliterating Recon made me feel good. His incompetence will likely be witnessed more in the future, with potentially more hilarious or facepalm-inducing consequences. - SirStonewall**

 **Next chapter: The Fly and the Hammer**


	6. The Fly and The Hammer

**Authors' note and disclaimer: This is a collab fic with SirStonewall. SAO and its characters don't belong to us but to Reki Kawahara. We are merely playing in the world he created. Stonewall and his crew belong to SirStonewall while the crew of "** _ **La Montréalaise"**_ **belong to me. Kudos to Mandalore the Freedom for his character suggestions.**

 **Well… this turned out bigger than we thought. Guess that's what happens when you have this much fun writing. Enjoy your reading and please review. It's always a blast reading reviews - Goodalwayswins98**

 **Woah where did all this inspiration come from!? This chapter was WAY longer than I thought it'd be! As always, leave a review please. I love enthusiastic and/or helpful reviews. - SirStonewall**

 **Chapter 6: The Fly and The Hammer**

"Here they come. Looks like Casper came through for us, again." Stonewall hums quietly, watching a pair of gliders silently approach the large clearing in the night sky.

"He always does. Except for that time in Saint-Nazaire." Aria hums back from where she's kneeling a few yards away.

"That wasn't his fault. Dude had stuff to do offline." Stonewall mutters as the two gliders drop below the treetops and quickly skid to a halt inside the clearing.

After a couple minutes the glider pilots open up the front of the glider before waving the commandos over.

"Let's go people!" Stonewall hisses, standing up and starting to jog towards the glider.

Everyone else gets up and follows after him, nodding respectfully to the glider pilots as they climb up into the glider following the redheaded American.

"Three Jeeps and two motorcycles." Stonewall informs, no longer whispering as he starts pushing a motorcycle out of the glider. "I need someone to ride ahead with me on a motorcycle to disable any tanks."

Hearing his request, Sinon nearly instantly nominates Kirito, much to the swordsman's amusement.

"Sure. I'll do it."

As they set about getting the jeeps unloaded from the gliders, the Fallschirmjager platoon commander approaches Stonewall as his men are carrying crates of ammunition from the gliders.

"We'll be staying behind as planned. Good luck on your way out."

Stonewall nods and shakes his hand, giving him a grin in the moonlight. "Alrighty. Give 'em hell. You guys are welcome to fight with me any time."

"That's good to hear. Let us know if you ever need some extra supporting infantry. All the guys like how you roll."

Stonewall chuckles and nods once more, exchanging a fist bump before putting on a pair of goggles as the Lieutenant walks away.

"Aria, let's get everyone mounted up!"

"Working on it! Making a quick modification!" She calls back, having removed a small piece of the windscreen on her jeep. "There. Try that."

Agil climbs into the passenger seat and puts the barrel of his MG42 through the hole, checking the freedom of motion for a brief moment before nodding. "That's perfect."

"Where do you want us?" Nguyen asks, standing nearby with the rest of the crew of " _La Montréalaise_ ".

"Fill in the extra places in the jeeps. Have anti-tank ready in case Stonewall and Kirito miss a tank."

The Canadians nod in agreement while Dick materializes his Panzerschreck. The burly player raises his thumb before getting in the back of one.

"You sure you guys don't want me to drive?" he asks.

"NO!" shouts Roscoe, Tony and Lou hurriedly while glaring at Dick. Klein looks at Nguyen with a questioning look.

"Is he that bad a driver? He does drive your tank around." He says while checking his gun.

The Vietnamese shakes his head.

"Nah... he's not a bad driver, "Nguyen explains as he embarks in the driver's seat of a jeep, "Just that he likes to show off his skills."

"Yeah… and dumbass almost crashed us into a tank," Lou snaps with a furious look on his face, "I still remember that time in Versailles!"

Sitting in the back of a jeep, Dick grunts and rolls his eyes.

"I got us out of there at least… not like some screaming wussy." He shoots back while glaring at Lou. Dick than switches to a falsetto voice and moves his hands in a rather flamboyant manner, "Oh no! De Yourmans have a big tank. What do we do?! Oh no! We gonna die~!"

"Guys, just shut up and find a seat." Aria snaps, climbing into the driver's seat of Agil's Jeep. Klein mans the .50cal behind them. Roscoe and Tony, meanwhile, man the machine guns on two different jeeps. Roscoe gets behind a .50 caliber on the lead jeep while Tony arms his .30 cal.

"We're good to go!" Tony exclaims while standing behind his jeep's machine gun.

"Time to rock and roll!" Stonewall yells, kick-starting his motorcycle with a maniacal laugh as he revs the engine. "God I've missed that sound!"

"BE SAFE!" Aria yells as she points at him, carefully driving out her player-laden jeep from the glider's gaping maw with Sinon and Liz hanging on for dear life in the back seat.

"You guys ready to go?" Nguyen shouts as he looks at his passengers. Sitting with him is Leafa, Asuna and Roscoe. Manning his jeep's machine gun is Dick who can't help but comment.

"You sure you want this motherfucker to drive? It took him 8 years to get his license IRL."

"Fuck you. My driving at least doesn't get people sick IRL while playing VR!"

"Cause it makes things exciting!"

Nguyen shakes his head as he revs the Jeep's engine.

 **Xx-xX**

Roaring up the snow covered road, Stonewall and Kirito keep very little distance between them, whilst avoiding potholes and leading the way for the jeeps behind them. Stonewall motions with his hand for Kirito to give him some space as the shape of a tank rolling up the road can be seen ahead. Pulling a Hafthohlladung 'Panzerknacker' from his backpack he roars up alongside it and scrutinizes the tank briefly before placing the magnetic mine on the side and pulling the arming cord. Once done, he motions for Kirito to follow him, quickly accelerating past the doomed vehicle. The both of them quickly gain distance from it before there's an explosion, followed by the orange glow of a jet of flame spewing out the commander's hatch.

"Good one there! Think you can let me handle the next one?" Kirito asks as they speed along the highway.

"It's all yours!" Stonewall yells back over the wind and the rumbling of the engines, giving Kirito a snappy salute.

As they dash down the forest road, all seems quiet. However, a ray of light alerts them to the presence of enemies. Kirito and Stonewall quickly stop their bikes and lay them in nearby bushes. Quickly diving behind the bushes, they crawl for a couple of meters before stopping. Peering his head, Stonewall notices a snow-covered Panzer IIIM with its lights on. What surprises him is the five crew members in black uniforms that are shivering atop the engine deck. Kirito listens in.

"Man… what the fuck do we do?!" one of them says worriedly, "The engine stopped working."

"Beats me! I didn't know this thing could break down so easily!" exclaims another who's looking into the engine compartment, "Dammit I have no idea how to fix this thing!"

"We can try and get help with the radio," suggests another player as he shivers, "It's fucking freezing out here."

"Told you guys we shouldn't have volunteered for patrol duty by ourselves!" argues another one.

"Are you sure it wasn't your idea tough guy? You're the one that said that we didn't need to inspect the Panzer before heading out!"

Looking between them, Stonewall grins and nudges Kirito, pulling his rifle off his shoulder. "Hey, play along, I've got an idea."

"I think I have an idea what you got planned." he says with an evil smile.

Standing up, Stonewall takes on a relaxed posture and walks out of the bushes onto the road, followed close behind by Kirito. "Heya! Y'all look like you've got some problems!" He cheers, casually walking towards them.

"Eh yeah… Something's wrong with our tank." One sheepishly admits, taking off his commander's cap and rubbing the back of his shaved head. "You guys got your vehicle repair skills up?"

"I don't but Stonewall here does," Kirito answers in a friendly fashion.

"Boy are we happy to see you guys!" the commander exclaims, "We heard that that the Schwerer Gustav was under attack and they needed help. Think you can fix us up quickly so we can get there?"

"Well… I can definitely try." Stonewall grunts, slinging his rifle and getting ready to climb up on the tank.

"What are you guys doing out here?" One asks, rubbing his arms in an attempt to stay warm.

"Mining the woods and doing patrols." The American responds, pulling himself up onto the engine deck and peering in. "Oh shit, yeah I know what's wrong. Your fuel pump got disconnected."

"Really man?" Kirito asks with fake curiosity. He has a feeling that Stonewall is bluffing, "You're lucky you didn't catch on fire or blow up!" He adds seriously while the other players all share worried looks.

"Yeah. Damn thing's in a tight space, so this may take a little bit. How about y'all climb inside and huddle up? Better than freezing out here."

"Stonewall, don't you have you a trick to make the heater run even if the engine's not working?" Kirito comments innocently as he climbs on the back of the tank. Upon hearing this, the crewmen's eyes light up while Stonewall puts on a scolding face.

"Shush about that! If the Devs find out they'll patch it!"

"Oh sorry!"

"Wait this thing has a heater?!" exclaims one of the players, "Yo, let's get inside. Thanks again dudes!"

"Yeah I'll do the glitch for y'all, enjoy the warmth."

The five crewmen begin to enter the tank with Kirito helping them.

"Get in there before your hypothermia bar gets too high," he winks as he helps the commander get in, "We'll take care of things out here ok?"

"Thanks man! We'll give you a lift to the Schwerer Gustav!" The commander replies before shutting the hatch. Kirito leans on the turret after the hatch closes, moving slightly to cover what appears to be a viewport.

Stonewall quietly snickers to himself as he pulls his bayonet off his belt and reaches into the engine compartment, pulling it out a few seconds later as the smell of gasoline registers to Kirito.

"You done with the 'repairs' Stonewall?" Kirito asks while winking. Stonewall closes the engine cover after putting a block of TNT on the engine block.

"One last thing…" He mutters, motioning for Kirito to get his gun ready as he pulls a grenade off his belt and readies the pull string. Kirito raises his M1 carbine and points at the hatch before knocking on it.

The commander's hatch opens a moment later and the player sticks his head out as Stonewall temporarily blocks his view of Kirito.

"Y'all are good to go. There's one thing I want you guys to be wary of in the future though."

"Okay? What would that be?"

Stonewall grins as he moves, allowing Kirito a clean shot at the player's head. "Saboteurs."

"Wha-"

A single gunshot resounds in the area and the commander slumps into the turret before disappearing in a trail of pixels, followed by Stonewall pulling the string on the grenade and dropping it into the opening, slamming the hatch cover closed. Muffled cries of panic mixed with high pitched screams can also be heard along with heads hitting metal. "Fuckin' RUN!" Stonewall shouts as both players turn away.

He and Kirito leap off the tank and dash away. They quickly dive into the ditch as the explosion rocks the surrounding area and sends the turret flying off the Panzer IIIM along with an unfortunate player being thrown upwards before disappearing.

"I can't believe we just did that," Kirito says flatly as he looks at the burning pile of metal.

"I can. There are certain kinds of stupid that just can't be helped." Stonewall chuckles, getting up and walking over to where they stashed their motorcycles.

"On second thought… you're right," Kirito replies. A few notable moments from his adventures in other VRMMORPGs' come to his mind as he mounts his motorcycle.

"Let's ride!" Stonewall cheers, starting his motorcycle and revving the engine before quickly accelerating along the route with his friend following him.

"Say… what was the real problem with their tank?" Kirito asks over the sound of his roaring engine.

"Busted alternator. Not my problem!" he answers cheekily. Behind them, the burning hulk lights up the road, leaving a column of black smoke trailing into the cloudy sky.

 **Xx-xX**

"WOOHOO! God that was awesome! I haven't felt that feeling in years!" Stonewall cheers as they rumble into the player filled streets of Liege, followed close behind by the three jeeps. Above them, the sky is clear and the winds are quite calm.

"I'll say… It feels almost like the real thing," Kirito adds as he gets off his motorbike. Behind them, the jeeps rumble to a halt.

"It feels exactly like the real deal. They based the Harley-Davidson WLA off of the one I had in real life." Stonewall says as he props his bike up and climbs off.

"Nice job everyone!" Nguyen congratulates as he goes around shaking the hands of everyone in their team. As he reaches Stonewall and Kirito, he grins and shakes their hands vigorously.

"Nice job boys!" he says, "We saw those two knocked out tanks. Good job on that. Nothing too hard?" he asks with a smile.

"Naw, did get a good laugh out of the Panzer III though." Stonewall chuckles.

"That bad?"

Kirito stretches himself before answering. At the same time, the rest of the group gather around them in curiosity.

"That bad. They were some of the worst idiots I met in VR."

"They fell for the 'expert mechanic' trick!" Stonewall laughs as he takes his helmet off, pulling a cigarette out of his inventory and lighting it. "And I got it all recorded too."

"'Expert mechanic?' They believed that you'd fix their tank?!" Dick exclaims with a stunned look, "Bunch of morons."

Both Kirito and Stonewall nod before everyone bursts out laughing.

"Speaking of morons… where's that kid we picked up?" Tony asks, "He shoulda respawned by now."

"He's over there by the supply tent." Stonewall groans, pointing to Recon. The player looks around with uncertainty before spotting familiar faces and making his way to the group.

"Hey Leafa!" he shouts, "You made it out of there?! It was so scary and dangerous."

The aforementioned player rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips.

"Yes we did Recon. It wasn't that difficult either to stay alive."

Tony shakes his head and looks at Agil.

"If you've got a functioning brain," he mutters, "Unlike this kid."

The dark skinned player nods in agreement.

"Yeah… but he's a very good scout in ALO. Give him some time and he'll get used to it here."

Stonewall sighs while looking at Recon, then steps forward and claps the shy player on the shoulder. "You fucked up kid. However, even the best of us make mistakes. If you want to be a scout, I know a person that can teach ya' how to do it in this game."

"Y-yes please, sir." Recon stutters, straightening up his posture.

"Alright. I'll send 'em a message. Get yourself some winter clothes and some better gear. I'll spot you the requisition points." Stonewall yawns, sending Recon a fair sized sum of requisition points.

"Thank you. I'll do some research before I do though."

The American grunts in response, and Recon jogs off towards the supply tent as Aria looks at everyone else.

"Alright people, boss drop items! Check your inventory." Aria cheers.

Everyone starts opening up their inventory as they lounge around on the jeeps, ignoring the columns of tanks rolling by.

"New slide," Dick grunts as he closes a menu, "-10% to exertion. Sure."

A short scoff is heard from Lou.

"As if you needed a faster shotgun," he says, rolling his eyes, "You're the same moron that busted his airsoft shotgun."

Dick merely shrugs as he equips his trench gun and scrolls through some menus. His gun glows briefly before he gives it a pump followed by a satisfied grunt.

"Whatever. Not my fault if shitty plastic can't take all this awesome."

"New assault webbing for me." Aria hums happily, equipping the harness of magazine pouches. Liz smiles as she closes her menu. A new satchel appears on her.

"Improved explosives satchel," she explains, "I get to carry more explosives out of inventory."

"I got a gun part." Asuna says plainly, looking in her inventory.

"Which part is that?" Nguyen asks while scrolling through his inventory, "Could be pretty useful. I once got an improved trigger. Made my Thompson shoot a bit faster."

"It's an improved grip."

"Mind showing me?"

Asuna materializes the grip in her hands and shows it to him. Looking like a pistol grip, everyone quickly recognizes it as the grip commonly seen in use by mobsters of the era.

"Keep that thing!" Nguyen barks, "That's an accuracy booster!"

The medic looks at him with a surprised look.

"Is it rare?"

"Not really, but if you're hosing down people with a drum mag, it helps keep the Thompson under control. Makes it easier to hit stuff."

The medic nods before going through some menus, equipping the different foregrip to her Thompson and testing the feel of it with a smile.

"I got a couple free bundle grenades… whoopee…" Stonewall mutters,

"Free shit is fun, I guess?" Nguyen comments while shrugging, "Got me a heavier barrel. Accuracy and reliability boost always fun."

Looking over his fellow Canadians, he notices Roscoe carrying a radio set.

"Got a new radio set for the tank," he says while looking over a menu, "+5% transmission range and +5 to reliability. What about you Tony?"

"Free smoke grenades man," Tony answers, "Won't need to buy some more."

"I got improved rifle grenade sights for my Garand." Leafa reports happily, equipping the item and replacing the simple etchings on the side of her rifle with an engraved metal plate.

"I heard those are rare," Lou comments while equipping his Thompson and racking back its bolt, "I got a better bolt system so +5% to Fire Rate."

"I got a harness for carrying my own spare barrels out of inventory." Agil says with a satisfied grin. The new harness appears on him as he closes his menu. A pair of barrels spawns on the harness, pulling it down a bit because of their weight.

"I got a ZF-4 scope for my FG42!" Klein cheers, equipping the small scope and looking through it at a tree down the road.

Nguyen looks at the scoped rifle with interest. "I almost want to get one," he says, "What about you Silica?"

The dog handler materializes a revolver that she holds in her hands.

"I got a Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver," she answers while holding up the gun, "It looks like a cowboy's gun."

"It may look like a cowboy's gun, but it's a good reliable pistol." Stonewall says while looking at the new gun. "I've got one in real life."

"Lucky bastard," Nguyen mutters at hearing this.

"Hey guys," Kirito exclaims, "I got a rare weapon drop."

A rifle materialize in his hands, similar to his Carbine though the magazine is longer.

"Bro… that's a fucking M2 Carbine!" Nguyen says as he picks up his jaw, "Those things are super rare as fuck."

Stonewall grins and extends a fist towards Kirito, earning a fist-bump in response. "Dude, fuckin' nice. They don't even sell those in the European supply depots."

"Man… some people get all the fun," Klein adds sarcastically, "Next thing you know, Kirito'll show up with a rare sword or something."

"I can't help it if I'm lucky," Kirito answers sheepishly, "Maybe next time it'll be your turn."

"Hey, I got another sniper rifle," Sinon quietly says as she cycles the bolt on a scoped Lee-Enfield SMLE No.4, "Twice the ammo capacity and a smoother bolt. I like it."

"That's a good rifle. Toss that Springfield and use that." Aria says while patting Sinon on the back.

Looking around, Roscoe sees the supply tent where Recon had gone to. Other players are bustling around the base, tending to their weapons or heading out on quests.

"I think we'd better have someone go help that kid with his new stuff," he suggests, "I don't think he's very familiar with gear."

"I'll do it." Aria volunteers. "Stonewall, how about you get the tank pulled out of storage and ready to roll."

'Yes ma'am!" Stonewall barks, giving her a salute as she walks off.

"We'll do the same eh guys?" Nguyen adds before heading to the tank depot with his crew and their friends.

As they all enter the fenced area and walk down the rows of tanks, Pina sniffs the air, then starts to growl, looking towards the T26E4 and its extra frontal armor. Stonewall looks at her, then at the empty guard stations around the wire, and runs around to the back of the line of vehicles.

"HEY! FREEZE MOTHERFUCKER!" The American yells, raising his rifle. Everyone else raises their weapons.

"SABOTEURS IN THE TANK DEPOT!" Nguyen shouts at the top of his lungs. Some of the idle players stand up abruptly before getting their weapons in hand and begin rushing towards the depot.

"Silica! What's Pina telling you?!" Kirito asks hurriedly. The girl looks at a notification that hovers over the dog.

"One enemy player in the area! She can't tell where he is though. There's too much oil and fuel smells around here."

"Crap, we'd better hurry up!"

"We're locking down this place!" Nguyen orders his crew as they take up positions to cover the entrance, "The rest of you find that guy!"

Stonewall quickly runs out of sight, followed by a pair of gunshots. Seconds later, a player in a US tanker uniform runs out into the center aisle between the two rows of tanks. A short bark is let out by Pina who dashes towards the infiltrator at full speed followed by the rest of the group running. The running player mutters "Oh crap!" as the dog pushes him down on the snowy ground. His head barely misses smacking the floor as Pina tries to bite his throat, but the player pushes the German Shepherd off his body. The infiltrator gets back on his feet just as the blue glow of a weapon materializing from his inventory is visible on his hip. He reaches for the pistol to try and shoot Pina, but doesn't get the chance as fully-automatic fire rips into him when Stonewall dumps the entire twenty round magazine into his torso.

"You got him?!" Kirito asks as he runs towards Stonewall, watching the red-haired player walk out to the suffering player and draw his pistol, swiftly finishing the job with one shot.

"Yeah, I got him."

Kirito gives his friend a thumbs up. The other ALO players arrive, alerted by the gunshots. They blow a small sigh of relief when they see that there's only Stonewall, Kirito and Pina standing there. Silica goes over to her companion to pet her.

"Thanks Pina!" she says cheerfully as the dog licks her face.

Walking over with another cigarette in his lips, Stonewall crouches down and scratches behind Pina's ear. "Good girl. I'll get you some fresh meat for that one."

The sound of more running can be heard as Nguyen arrives, almost out of breath.

"Good job getting him!" he says between gasps, "We got some guards at the entrance so it should be all good. Any idea what damage he did?"

"Well, he was trying to get the engine deck open on my tank, so I don't think he did much there. You might want to check yours though."

"Calisse…. I'll get the boys and we'll check it out." he groans before making his way to the entrance of the depot as large group of players enters the depot with varying looks of worry, annoyance, and anger. They sport various different tank uniforms, denoting their favorite class.

Grumbling and complaining can be heard as they crawl over their vehicles and begin inspecting them.

Stonewall hears a familiar set of voices swearing in a mix of French and English laced with the occasional Vietnamese word, and chuckles at the commander's raving from atop the turret of his M4A3E8 Sherman. "Looks like Nguyen and his boys got sabotaged."

"He really isn't lucky isn't he?" Asuna remarks as she looks at the crew working and cursing.

"Not at all. On the bright side, doesn't look like the saboteur managed to do anything to my tank."

Klein eyes the massive vehicle with a hand on his chin and curiosity in his eyes with Agil doing the same as Stonewall opens the commander's hatch and climbs part way in.

"Speaking of tanks," Klein says, "Think you can show us how to use one of those Stonewall?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure I guess. Three 'a y'all can climb in and ride along if you want. I'll take you to the training course in England while we wait for Nguyen and his boys to fix their tank." He replies before disappearing down the hatch. The sound of repairs can be heard in the background mixed with occasional cursing as Klein shrugs and heaves himself up onto the engine deck.

"I want to give it a try!" Liz says enthusiastically, "Firing that big gun must be fun!"

She climbs aboard the tank followed by everyone else.

"I'm curious how the tank mechanics work," Agil adds, "I remember the FPS's I played having really simple systems for their tanks."

As the ALO players climb onto the tank, Agil manages to shimmy himself down into the turret, crawling under the gun into the Loader's position while Liz practically vibrates from excitement in the gunner's seat, looking around the interior.

"Who's driving though?" Liz asks as she fiddles with some of the turret controls.

"For now, I will be." Stonewall grunts, crawling forward in the hull to the driver's seat. Klein looks downcast.

"Aww man, I wanted to drive," he mopes as he stands up from the engine deck, "Hey you girls wanna come too?" he asks Leafa, Sinon, Silica and Asuna who are standing besides the Pershing.

"You can drive one of the practice vehicles. You're not driving my tank when I haven't even driven it yet." Stonewall calls over his shoulder.

Asuna climbs aboard the tank before gesturing for the others to get on.

"What are you waiting for girls?" she asks sweetly, "It'll be fun to try something new."

Sinon briefly looks at the tank gun and smirks as she climbs on. "It'll be a fun challenge."

Leafa and Silica smile as they climb on, helped by Asuna.

"Is everyone on?!" Stonewall yells, checking his fuel levels and getting ready to start the engine.

"We're all here!" Agil confirms as he helps Kirito up onto the tank. "Let's go man!"

Stonewall gives a thumbs-up over his shoulder as the engine quickly roars to life, revving multiple times before settling to a rumbling idle. The tank lurches forward a moment later, and slowly pulls out of line with the others before turning towards the front gate. As they pass Nguyen and his crew, Stonewall opens his hatch and waves at Nguyen with a cheeky grin, revving the engine prior to speeding up.

"Later boys!"

"Yeah have fun man!" Nguyen shouts dryly before turning back to his tank.

"Enjoy fixing your tank!"

 **Xx-xX**

"Welcome to the England training grounds. Infiltrators can't come here, so there's no chance of sabotage." Stonewall says as he climbs out of the tank, lighting the cigarette in his lips.

"So how do tank mechanics work in this game?" Kirito asks, "It's probably different from fighting on foot."

"Well, you all have player manuals in your inventory. Please select them and turn to page ninety-six." The American instructs, sitting on the turret roof. Manuals materialize in the ALO players' hands before they start turning them to page 96.

"Must be like the real thing," Agil remarks as he quickly reads over the page, "A long shot from what I had when I started."

"Very much so. When a player purchases a tank he's automatically the tank commander. After that, you can recruit NPC crew members at the vehicle depot, and level them up. This tank, the T26E4, has a crew of five. Commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver."

"Do players prefer NPC's or other players as crew?" Kirito asks as he glances at Stonewall, still quickly reading the manual.

"NPC's are always available and automatically have muscle memory for stuff like loading, however I know several people who have all-player crews that would completely demolish any NPC crew in a one-on-one tank battle."

"Not to mention that playing with all-player crews must be more fun," Asuna adds in a friendly tone, "You can have conversations while driving around like when we first met you guys."

"Yeah. NPC's also don't know how to do things like restock ready-rounds, which ultimately means loading times are slower than an all-player crew."

"Ready rounds?" Klein asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Ready rounds are ammunition that is always expended first. Some tanks don't have ready racks, but those that do have the advantage of having a faster possible reload pace for the first few shots." Stonewall responds. "An example of this is on page one-oh-six."

The ALO players nod in understanding as they pour over said page.

"How hard is it to operate the main gun?" Liz asks, "That looks like the most fun part of the tank."

"Good muscle coordination is required for aiming the gun if you're using manual traverse. With manual traverse, you're physically cranking two seperate handwheels. A good example of the difficulty would be like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time."

"Ok, Is it difficult to learn?"

"It varies from person to person to be honest. Some catch on faster, others slower. Typically, manual traverse is only a backup though. Most tanks have hydraulic or electrical traversing mechanisms."

"Hmm, turns out I'm a fast learner then." Liz comments with a proud look, "Also is the maintenance hard on tanks?"

"Well…. It varies in different nation's tanks. American tanks have a decent reliability, and are easier to fix the bigger problems. Russian tanks have… alright reliability, but some things are more difficult to fix, and they're susceptible to some mechanical shenanigans. German tanks… The late war ones anyways like the Tiger series and the Panther series, they've got some good points to them, but they're less reliable, and the big problems are a complete pain in the ass to fix. German tank crew players typically try their best to max out their engineer and mechanic skills"

Liz nods and opens up her skills menu before scrolling down.

"Looks like my skills from ALO transferred over. They changed names though."

"Oh? What's the skills now?" Stonewall asks, looking up from his player manual.

"They were called 'Metal Equipment Maintenance' and 'light metal armor forging'. Now they're 'Vehicle component maintenance' and 'Tank armor maintenance'."

"Those are useful. Component Maintenance is the biggest thing with tanks. If you don't keep things in good shape, the reliability of your tank goes down drastically. Armor maintenance is for spaced armor, like on the front of this tank."

Kirito furrows his brow and raises his hand. "What does spaced armor do?"

Stonewall adjusts how he's sitting and turns the pages in his player manual a couple times. "Page one-ten please, for an example. Spaced armor varies in how it's deployed on a tank, but in the most common form it's sandbags on US tanks and Schurzen on German tanks. Simply translated, Schurzen is 'side skirting armor'. The sandbags are intended to mitigate the effects of shaped charges, such as those from the Panzerfaust and bazooka. Side skirts however, are put in place to protect the weak side armor of German tanks from anti-tank rifles, more specifically the Soviet 14.5mm PTRS and the 20mm PTRD."

Everyone nods slowly in understanding, and Stonewall closes his manual with a 'thump', storing it in his inventory.

"You better not be starting without me!" A voice calls from behind them, revealing Aria walking over to them from the teleport pad.

"I figured you'd be busy getting the pipsqueak his gear." Stonewall responds.

"Scott showed up and took over. He said provided the kid's not too stupid, he'll be good to go in a couple days."

"Sweet. You want to take a group, and I'll take what's left?"

"Yeah, that'll do. C'mon girls, let's show the guys what we can do." Aria says with a smirk, silently issuing a challenge to Stonewall.

Getting up, the commander grins at her, then looks at the guys of the group. "C'mon y'all, looks like we've got a challenge on our hands."

 **Xx-xX**

"Good practice y'all. If you remember those basics you were taught, you should do good. Just remember the interior of every tank is different, and many things can be moved around for crew preference." Stonewall explains as he hops off his tank. Just then, the sound of an approaching tank can be heard.

"Hey everyone! Finally fixed her up!" Nguyen shouts from the top of his new Sherman as he waves at his friends. His tank comes to a halt next to Stonewall's T26E4.

"What did the guy do to it?" Stonewall asks, nodding towards the tank.

"Urgh, fucked up the fuel lines, the alternator and the radiator. I'm pretty sure the guy would have pissed in the fuel tank just to piss us off" Nguyen groans, "Good thing we had the skills to fix everything. You guys had fun Kirito?"

"Yeah, we sure did, though I personally prefer fighting on foot," Kirito replies, "I like being closer to the action."

"Same goes for me," Asuna adds, "Though Sinonon and Liz had a lot of fun with the tank."

Liz lets out a small "Whoop" of joy.

"Lot a fun doesn't even begin covering it!" she exclaims, "Firing that big gun and moving that tank around was awesome. Don't you agree Sinon?"

The sniper nods in agreement as she hops off from Stonewall's tank.

"It's different from sniping with a rifle but I think with a bit of practice, I'll be bulleyesing tanks with the main gun," Sinon adds with a smile.

"You've definitely got the attention to fine-tuning." Aria says as she climbs up onto the T26E4. "I can't begin to imagine how good you'd be with a long-barreled 75mm or an 88mm."

Klein chuckles lightly as he emerges from one of the hatches.

"Pretty sure Sinon here'll be able to pull some trick shots," he says, "I like this thing."

He pats the tank, "But it's a bit cramped in here."

"Oh so you think you got it bad in here?" Agil remarks sarcastically as he pulls himself out of the loader's hatch with a few grunts, "This is fun and all but being as big as I am… it might be a bit hard fighting from inside a tank."

"You might be able to get away with an open-topped tank destroyer, or even a self-propelled gun." Stonewall muses, drumming his fingers on the turret roof. "Leafa, Silica, how'd you like it?"

Leafa shakes her head.

"I don't really like it. It's too cramped, I like the open air."

"Same for me," Silica answers, "That and I can't be with Pina inside a tank."

Nguyen nods.

"To each their own taste," he says with a smile, "Anyhow, me and the boys gotta log out but catch you later guys!"

"Later man, don't forget about Operation Flyswatter on Friday." Stonewall says, giving a wave to the Canadian crew. His friend waves back as he drives off.

 **Xx-Three days later-xX**

"Glad y'all could join us. I was worried we'd be going in without protecting infantry." Stonewall says appreciatively, walking with the ALO crew towards the command tent tucked back in the woods.

"And miss out on all the fun?" Kirito exclaims, "No way!"

Walking next to him is Asuna.

"What's the quest today?" she asks in curiosity.

"We're going to stomp an airfield. If possible we'll hold it, but we're destroying anything hostile there."

"Where's Nguyen and his buddies though?" Klein wonders.

"They're inside. All of Baker is joining in this assault." Stonewall replies, lifting open the half-frozen tent flap and motioning them inside.

"Whaddup guys!" Nguyen shouts, standing next to a radio station with his crew who are enjoying warm beverages. The Canadians are dressed in their tanker gear, with some other experienced players standing nearby in infantry and pilot gear.

"Glad you could make it Mr. Kirito," Roscoe says with a grin, "Really cool of you guys."

"Like I told Stonewall," Kirito replies while shaking Roscoe's hands, "There's no way we'll miss out on the fun here."

The rest of the ALO gang nod in approval.

"So what how are we going to 'stomp an airfield' exactly?" Leafa asks curiously, "Airfields are important so I don't think the other team will simply let you blast the place apart."

Nguyen smiles.

"Smart thinking there," he replies seriously, "We've got scouts in the area already. I think your buddy Recon is out there with them."

"The plan is to catch the planes on the ground and destroy them there. Once all the planes are destroyed, we'll either fall back and let the artillery handle the rest, or we'll do our best to dig in and prepare for a counterattack." Stonewall says while walking over to the planning table. "The general goal is to incapacitate any enemy assets and open up a corridor for our pilots."

"Once you do that, we'll be able to come in with B-26 Marauders and help repel any counterattacks." One of the pilots confirms, putting his map in his flight jacket.

"If you can't hold the airfield, we'll crater the runway." The other pilot says with a nod.

"Knock knock." Comes a familiar voice as the tent flap is pulled open and the player steps in, wearing US RTO equipment.

"Dex! How can I help you?" Stonewall asks enthusiastically.

"Hope you don't mind if we join you. We're taking a break from development work on the modern-day version of War-Torn."

"I don't mind, how many people you got?"

"Just short of a company worth, including two 57mm M1's."

"Awesome. Glad to have you." Stonewall says with a grin.

"Also, Mikey gave your tank a name. Painted it on the barrel."

"What?! Oh God, what did he name it?"

" _Warbreaker_."

Stonewall stares in surprise for a moment, then nods slowly and smiles. "Sounds badass, I like it. Honestly, I expected something more derogatory."

"So was I. Your girl gave him the green light on it though. So she was right there helping. They gave it some striped snow camouflage too."

"Is it normal for people to give their tanks names?" Asuna asks, looking at Stonewall and Nguyen.

"Yeah. Some give them more feminine names, like Nguyen here. Others like to give them more badass names." Stonewall chuckles. "If you're working alongside somebody new it's easier for them to just say the name of your tank instead of trying to remember the name of the commander."

"Yeah." Dex confirms before looking back to Stonewall. "Oh by the way, ya boy Rift got himself a Centurion."

"No shit? Sweet. Now all I gotta do is get a certain scrub a tank better than the Sherman." The American tank commander says with a pointed glance towards Nguyen. "Maybe something French."

"Well, the cutoff date is '55, but those tanks are gon' be expensive as hell."

"But I like the Sherman!" Nguyen protests, "Also… I don't want a tank made out of stale baguettes."

"Might I remind you that Baker Company is switching over to heavier tanks?" Stonewall snips.

"Must I tell you that the Israelis used Shermans to kick T-55 and T-62 ass?" he replies with irritation, "Besides, the Sherman's a good balanced tank. She hasn't failed me yet!"

"Except in armor, and when you bounced off that Tiger in Brussels, not to mention the high profile. . . You know what? If you want to get the cramped-ass M51, I'll spot you the money. But if you get knocked out in the first three weeks you've gotta get something other than a Sherman, deal?"

"Eh… the bounce was just unlucky! Not my fault if I hit a centimeter off Stonewall!" Nguyen retorts, "But if you insist, I'll get one of the Patton series."

"Hey guys!" calmly cut in another voice, "Think we can focus on the mission here?"

Both players turn their attention to the source of the voice who is sitting nearby with two players.

"Yeah, sure thing. Who are you again?" Stonewall asks. The player in question is a tall man with black hair. He's dressed in Canadian army gear while his hazel eyes are fixed on the bickering tankers.

"I'm Mandalore20," replies the tall player, "You guys are Stonewall and Nguyen right?"

"Pleased to meet you man," Nguyen replies before taking a more wary tone, "How did you know our names though?"

"I overheard your conversations earlier," Mandalore replies deadpan.

"You a freelance player?" Stonewall asks.

"Nah, I got a small team with me," he says pointing to two very tall women. One is a dark skinned player with black braided hair dressed in American paratrooper gear with an M1 helmet, while the other wears Soviet styled fatigues and a steel cuirass. Red hair pokes out from under her helmet.

"Ooh nice, you went with the Soviet Shock Trooper loadout," Nguyen whistles in admiration, "Pretty fucking heavy so you must have boosted your Strength."

The redheaded shock trooper and the dark skinned paratrooper crack their knuckles.

"I'll show 'em a good time," she says with an almost flirtatious tone, "I'm Masterchief117, pleased to meet you boys."

"And I'm Redfury," says the Soviet Shock Trooper, "Can't wait to see how we fuck these guys up."

"If y'all have the skill to go with your gear… you could be alot of help." Stonewall muses for a second before sticking a cigarette in his lips and lighting it. "Anyway! Operation Flyswatter. Let's get to the briefing."

"Good idea, what's the plan then?" Mandalore asks quietly as he and the others look at the planning table. On it is a map and pencils as well as some pictures of the mission's area.

Leaning over the table, Kirito puts a hand on his chin.

"The area looks well defended," he says looking at the pictures, "I see half a dozen airplanes on these pictures. Are there more of them?"

"There are. This field is filled past capacity, so there's planes just about everywhere," Stonewall states.

"That tower looks like a place where a sniper could have a good view of the area not to mention any spotters." Sinon adds, pointing to the airfield control tower.

"That tower can ruin our day pretty fast," Asuna remarks, "But I think that the tanks can take it out quickly. Like what happened to that church tower in Aachen."

"That might be true but that tower might be valuable," Liz adds, "It's a control tower for an airfield so we'd need it if the Alliance can make use of the airstrip."

"That means we can't destroy it right?" Kirito remarks looking to Stonewall and Nguyen.

"If it's in the way it dies." Stonewall replies with a dismissing shrug.

"Exactly," Nguyen answers, "But I'll try not to obliterate it on the first try. What's our plan Stonewall?"

"We've got the Fallschirmjager platoon from the assault on Gustav working on taking out the nearby artillery guns as we speak. There's at least half a dozen 20mm and 37mm anti-aircraft guns, not to mention four Flak 18 88mm guns, one at each corner of the airfield." Stonewall says as he takes four red squares and places one at each corner of the field. "There's an additional two 128mm Flak 40's that are central to the airfield, near the pilot barracks. The infantry garrison is roughly a company in size, with concrete bunkers and well-dug trenches watching the open approaches. That's the best we have in regards to intel."

"For now anyways," Nguyen adds as he stands up, "There's a recon team that's been scouting out the place. We'll meet up with them as we're heading in."

"Right. The plan is pretty goddamn simple. Under the cover of pre-sighted artillery fire we're going to charge up to the airfield using a series of clearings. Once we're within five hundred meters of the airfield, the 114th Field Artillery will commence a preparatory barrage of the airfield, after which we'll roll in. Infantry -that's you lot." He points at all the ALO crew and Mandalore's group before continuing. "Will move up to take out the perimeter defenses and eliminate any opposing infantry. Once you're done with that, Baker and Able of 9th Armored, 19th Tank Battalion, with roll onto the field itself and start destroying planes."

"No kill like overkill eh?" Nguyen remarks as he listens to his friend, a massive grin stretching across his face.

"Sometimes, it's perfectly appropriate to kill a fly with a sledgehammer." Stonewall chuckles. The other players laugh a bit at the image conjured by the tanker's description. Mandalore and his teammates look at the picture of the control tower.

"Might I suggest my team storm that control tower quickly?" he proposes, "It'll remove a vantage point for the other team. We also happen to have CQB gear."

Nguyen looks at Mandalore with an impressed look.

"Shame my Mandalorian is garbage otherwise I'd have congratulated you that way," Nguyen chuckles, "Smart idea but just the three of you might not be enough."

"Agreed."

"I know just the guy to help…" Stonewall mutters, looking over at Dex. "Think you and your boys can help with that?"

"Yeah. We'll help 'em."

"Alright," Kirito says, "So what's our task gonna be?"

"I need y'all to capture and hold two bunkers on the far end, so you'll be sticking with us for most of the fight. Baker will be there to support you guys while Able destroys the planes," Stonewall instructs.

"I see what you want there," Kirito replies, leaning over the table and begins pointing around, "What I suggest we do is…"

 **xX-Xx**

"All units, eyes out. We're entering Indian country now." Stonewall warns through his handset as his tank passes a road sign.

' _ **NOW LEAVING FRIENDLY TERRITORY'**_

' _ **Courtesy of 9th Armored Div, 19th Tank Battalion'**_

"Keep your eyes out for friendlies," Nguyen replies with a warning tone, "We should be stumbling on that recon team that went out earlier." He and his fellow commanders are riding turned out as they look around for anything hostile.

"Rift, how're your passengers?" Stonewall asks the commander of the Centurion III, looking back at the column of vehicles over the heads of Sinon, Silica, and Pina.

 _{They've made themselves comfy. Thankfully the bustle rack isn't getting in the way.}_

"You think this'll be a fun challenge?" Kirito asks as he stretches his arms. He's sitting on the engine deck of _La Montrealaise_ with Asuna, Klein, Agil, Leafa and Liz.

"If the other team has a certain degree of brains," Nguyen answers as he inspects his .50 caliber machine gun, "It'll be interesting to say the least."

 _{Nguyen, how's your chock doing? Everyone comfy?}_

Picking up his handset, Nguyen looks at his passengers with a smile. "You guys all comfy aboard the smoothest ride in Baker?"

A series of nods answers his question before he turns on the radio.

"We're pretty good. Dick isn't deliberately hitting every pothole he can." Nguyen says before a shout is heard from the front of his tank.

"Fuck you!" Dick shouts from the open driver's hatch.

 _{Roger that. Wolf, how's the ride on the Kong?}_ Stonewall asks the commander of the M12 behind Rift's Centurion.

 _{Oh just peachy. I've got a heavy ass 155mm shell sitting in my lap, and I already can't feel my legs.}_

 _{Quit yer bitchin', you'll be fine. Able, what's your readiness status?}_

 _{All good over here. The Crocodile had some engine troubles, but we're right behind you guys.}_

Stonewall nods in satisfaction, scanning the road to their front with his binoculars before relaxing in his cupola. "Hey Silica, Pina got anything?"

"No, nothing yet." She responds, petting the dog.

Looking for a conversation piece, Stonewall looks at her for a moment before speaking. "So, how'd you come up with Pina's name?"

The small girl's expression lit up.

"My pet cat IRL is called Pina too," she explains with an adorable smile before turning more somber, "When I was in SAO, I was the first Beast Tamer and I found a feathered dragon. She reminded of my cat so I called her Pina."

"Huh… I had you taken for a dog person honestly. I've got a dog irl, her name's Rua."

"It's my family's cat but she's always there for me. The Pina in VR has almost always been with me," the dog handler replies before changing her tone to a more cheerful one, "I like dogs too but the rest of my family doesn't."

"Ah that's a bummer. Aria's got a cat, named him Doc."

"Doc? That's a strange name for a cat," Silica replies.

Aria calls up through the hatch before Stonewall can validate the name. "I named him that so I could say 'What's up Doc?'!"

Sinon chuckles lightly at hearing this.

"It reminds of a discussion I once had with Asuna and Liz IRL about usernames," the sniper says, "It's a long story but essentially we were talking about how usernames were chosen. It's usually because of how cool it sounds. The thing is that Asuna used her real name for her avatar. So Liz remarks that she thought that Asuna just had no imagination."

"Well, my username is just a historical reference to my name, so…." Stonewall explains, " As for Nguyen, being the lazy fuck he was, just took the most stereotypical Vietnamese name ever for his. From what I heard from his buddies, all his other usernames revolve around him being Vietnamese or something about the South Vietnamese military."

"What exactly does it reference?" Silica asks in curiosity as she pets her dog. She didn't know much about Western history so it piqued her curiosity.

"Thomas Jonathan 'Stonewall' Jackson, a Confederate general during the American Civil War."

Sinon lights up a bit.

"I remember reading a bit about him," she said, "Wasn't he one of the best generals of the Confederacy?"

"Debatably the best, between him and Lee." Stonewall replies with a nod, looking at the road through his binoculars. "Heads up, infantry on the side of the road. Looks like the scout team."

"Viper!" One yells.

"Victor!" Stonewall yells back as his tank slows to a stop beside the player. Leaves rustle as the player waves back towards the woods, and the sound of an engine rumbling to life mixes in before a six-wheeled vehicle rolls out. Stonewall recognizes the familiar M38 Wolfhound belonging to Scott, a grizzly-looking guy in a tanker uniform who always has a cigar sticking out of his black facial hair. The prototype scout car rolls to a stop on the edge of the road, and Scott lifts himself out of the M24 turret as the infantry climb onto the engine deck.

"Hey Scotty! How'd the scouting go?"

"Pretty good. That new guy somehow got lost though."

"New guy…? Ah shit, did Recon get capped again?" Stonewall groans.

"Nope, he just disappeared. Snooped around a little more, but couldn't find him anywhere."

"Well, he's gotta be around there somewhere. You don't disappear when you log out in enemy territory." Stonewall grumbles.

"My thoughts exactly. You guys want us to come along?"

"I mean… I won't say 'no' to more guns. You can if you want. What's new at the base?"

"Not much, more sandbags and a couple tanks passing through. Lead the way man, we'll slot in behind you."

Stonewall gives a quick salute before the Super Pershing starts forward, and Nguyen waits to give Scott a spot in the column.

 _Warbreaker_ 's radio crackles to life a few moments later.

 _{Hey Stonewall! Nguyen here! Anything interesting from Scott?}_

"Recon got his dumb ass lost. Aside from that the only changes are more sandbags and a couple tanks passing through."

He hears a short snort followed by a brief pause.

 _{Right… urgh, I'll tell everyone else about the situation and we'll keep an eye out for him.}_

There's a clearly annoyed tone in Nguyen's voice as he ends the transmission. Looking towards his passengers who chatting with each other, he waves his hands to get their attention.

"Alright guys, just got news from our scout," he reports in a serious tone, "The enemy put up more sandbags. That's about it."

He pauses briefly before looking at Leafa.

"Turns out your buddy Recon went M.I.A. during the recon mission."

The blonde player sighs and raises a hand to her forehead, clearly exasperated.

"Oh Recon, in what trouble did you get yourself this time?" she groans.

"I'm still wondering why he uses that username," Nguyen asks almost absentmindedly as he turns his attention to the road ahead.

"To be fair, he wasn't such a bad player," Leafa explains, "He has a lot of experience as a scout and he has this habit of being in the right place at the right time."

"Yeah, I still remember that time with Sigurd," Kirito adds, "We were really lucky that he was around."

The other passengers begin listening in interest to the story.

"Oh? Care to explain?" Nguyen asks with a raised eyebrow. This had to be interesting.

"It was back in ALO. Me and big brother were travelling together. We stopped in a town to log out. When I got out, I looked at my cell phone and got dozens of messages and voicemail from Recon..."

"Sounds like someone really wanted to talk to you," Nguyen says teasingly.

"Don't get any ideas," Leafa retorts dryly, "He's just a friend."

"Okidoki," the other player replies neutrally.

"Turns that Recon was following Sigurd, our faction's commander in chief, because he suspected that he was up to something," Leafa continues before being interrupted.

"Lemme guess… guy was right?" Klein asks as he plays with his FG-42's scope and looks around.

"Yeah, Sigurd was planning to betray our faction by giving out the location of a secret meeting between our faction leaders and another faction's leaders." she continues, "So that they could attack them while they were vulnerable while Sigurd would get a newer, higher position in the enemy faction."

"Fuckin' traitor," Nguyen mutters as Leafa continues, "But I can start seeing how lucky that kid is. So how did you stop that?"

"I think I already I told you that story. The one where Kirito stole my sword?"

"Oh yeah, so where's Recon in all this?"

"When we arrived at our final destination, he pops up," Leafa says begrudgingly, "Turns he had been spotted by Sigurd's accomplices and gets captured but he broke free before taking them out with poison."

Nguyen stares at her in disbelief, his right eyebrow raised.

"Wait what?"

His mind flashes back to his first meeting with Recon. The player had managed to break free from his restraints and would've shot Stonewall. If not for technology he didn't fully understand.

"Kid's better than I thought... Maybe he'll pull something off."

"You shouldn't underestimate players like that," Asuna scolds, "You never know what they'll pull off."

"Eh fair enough."

 _{All units standby to pull off the road to the right.}_

"Looks like storytime is over eh?" Nguyen sighs, "Better get ready to hop off guys."

 _{All Baker platoon commanders, sound off for pre-contact comms check. Baker One-actual 'Warbreaker' checking in.}_

 _{Baker Two-actual 'Squirrel' checking in.}_

 _{Baker Three-actual, checking in.}_

 _{Baker Four-actual, checking in.}_

Stonewall grins after the radio check is over, then motions for a right-hand turn, just as his AI driver slows down the Super Pershing and turns, pushing through a small line of bushes into an open field.

 _{Warbreaker, Warbreaker, be advised, possible enemy armor ahead.}_ Scott warns, his armored car following behind the heavy tank.

"Warbreaker copies. All units, make ready for contact. No dismounts yet." Stonewall replies before glancing back at Sinon, who's looking over the turret with her rifle in hand. "Hey! We might run into some tanks pretty soon! Keep an eye out!"

The sniper merely nods as she looks around with her binoculars. She had purchased a British infantry uniform and webbing to go with her scoped Lee-Enfield. Draped around her neck is a green scarf shielding her from the cold winter air. She also wears a white veil that covers the green colour of her fatigues.

"Hey Stonewall?" Silica asks as she switches between looking around and monitoring Pina, "How many tanks do we have with us today?"

"Two companies. A company consists of four platoons, each consisting of four tanks each. So that's…" Stonewall tapers off as he counts on his fingers. "Thirty-two tanks."

"So I guess this is a big battle we're going into?" Silica says.

"Yeah kinda. Sixteen of those are being reserved to flank security though."

"Smart idea," Sinon remarks, "If there's anything I hate, it's being flanked."

"You and me both." Stonewall chuckles, looking back at the multiple tanks, half tracks, and trucks behind him. "All vehicles halt. Able, move your boys into position."

 _{Baker One-actual. This is Baker One-Two! Understood!}_ Nguyen replies over the comms. He's quickly followed by the other tanks in the platoon.

Looking down at his watch Stonewall scowls for a moment. "We're early."

 _{This is Baker One-Two, early?}_

"That's affirmative One-Two. We are two minutes early. All motorized infantry elements, dismount and prepare to move."

The sound of boots hitting the ground can be heard as the passengers leap off their ride and onto the snow. The mass of infantry spread out among the tanks and use them as cover while the tank commanders watch the far treeline like hawks. A couple minutes pass, and there's a distant thundering back towards friendly lines before artillery shells shriek overhead and start lighting up the area behind the trees with split-second bright flashes.

"Let's hope that'll weaken their defenses," Asuna remarks on the back of _"La Montréalaise"_. Another series of explosions resonates. Klein briefly winces.

"I think there won't be anything left after that's done!" he chuckles, "That's gotta have to hurt."

"How many guns are firing at the airfield?" Sinon asks as she watches the barrage through her binoculars.

"Two platoons of M12's and a field artillery battery of five 105mm M3 howitzers." Stonewall grunts back, lighting a cigarette.

"Whoever's over there is having one bad day," Agil says to his fellow ALO players.

"Oh yeah…" Nguyen remarks passively, "My old man survived one of those back in '75."

Kirito and the rest of the ALO players looks at the tank commander in surprise.

"Your dad survived that kind of thing?" a wide-eyed Kirito asks.

"Yeah, was stuck in Xuan Loc during the final days of the Vietnam War. One of his brothers too."

Before anybody else can ask anymore questions the barrage stops, and the bugle of a cavalry charge sounds prior to Stonewall's voice transmitting through the radio.

 _{All elements, commence the attack!}_

The mass of vehicles and infantry quickly advances across the field as flares are launched over the airfield. Seconds later, all hell breaks loose. Infantry hidden in the treeline start firing at the infantry in the open, forcing them to use the tanks as cover. The tanks in turn start firing their machine guns at the tree line in an effort to suppress the entrenched infantry, and before long the open area between the defenders and the advancing tanks is a maelstrom of tracers and explosions.

"Baker Two-Actual, get your boys up online and let's show these bastards what firepower is!" Stonewall yells into his handset, ducking into his cupola as a burst from a machine gun ricochets off the turret roof.

 _{Copy that One-Actual. Did you copy Able Three-Actual's last transmission?}_

"That's a negative, I didn't hear them."

 _{Able Three is going to put some Willy-Peter on that treeline.}_

"Copy that."

Between the tanks of Baker, four M4A3(105) Shermans roll up and halt, taking aim at the treeline before their guns bark, lobbing White Phosphorus rounds into the snow-covered trees prior to backing up.

As the machine gun fire tapers off inside the cloud of white smoke, Stonewall waves the dismounted infantry forward while his tank accelerates. "Let's go get 'em! Baker, we're breaking through!"

 _{Baker One-Two… ROGER THAT!}_

Looking over at Nguyen's tank, Stonewall sees his friend's tank accelerate forward with machines guns blazing.

"Alright! Remember the plan guys?" Nguyen asks the players sitting on the engine deck.

"Sure do!" Kirito exclaims back while the others nod, "Once we reach the tarmac, we hop off and assault the enemy's bunkers!"

"Excellent!"

 _{One-Two, this is One-Four. Once your chock dismounts have them hold back, we'll take the pleasure of knocking.}_

"Understood," Nguyen replies before relaying the information to Kirito and his friends. They quickly answer their understanding. His tank dashes forward alongside the rest of Baker. The players see white smoke rise from the treeline ahead of them. Suddenly, gunshots begin sounding off sporadically.

"Looks like there are some lucky guys that survived the barrage!" Klein remarks with a smile, "More exp for us!"

Explosions suddenly make their ears ring as snow and dirt is thrown into the air around them.

"Mortars! Dammit!" Nguyen swears before switching over to his intercom, "Dick, step on it!"

A quick grunt confirms that the driver received the new order.

 _{Baker One-Actual, turning in. Recommend everyone else buttons up.}_

"Roger that!" Nguyen answers back before turning to Kirito, "Sorry to cut this short but I'm getting inside. Good luck to you and we'll watch your backs!"

"Good luck to you too man! We'll do the same!" Kirito says as he tightens his grip on his M2 Carbine. The tank commander raises his thumbs as he lowers himself into the turret before closing his hatch. The former swordsman sees the M4A3 crush a barbed wire fence. Behind it is the trenchline, filled with enemy players and NPC's. The sound of bullets shattering on the thick armour is suddenly interrupted by an explosion, and smoke rises from the 76mm barrel as trails of pixels rise from in front of the tank. Nguyen and his crew having just cleared out a section of the enemy's trench for his friends. Machine gun fire roars from the bow and turret mounted machine guns as they clean up any survivors.

"Alright… let's go everyone!" Kirito shouts as he jumps off ' _La Montrealaise'_ followed by Asuna, Klein, Agil, Liz and Leafa who leap off the tank and dash into the shattered trench, guns blazing. The enemy players are stunned by the initial shock of the assault and many fall to the weight of fire from the former ALO players and their tank support. One dressed in a Finnish uniform recovers quicker than his friends and reaches for a Panzerfaust lying in a nearby crate. Asuna notices him as he aims for Nguyen's tank, and doesn't hesitate to shoot him, eliminating him before he can take out _'La Montréalaise'_.

"Make sure no one gets near that crate!" She orders as her and her friends continue fighting forward, sweeping the trench with fire. All around them, the sound of battle thunders while their allied players join in the fight.

"Everyone off!" Stonewall yells out his partially opened hatch before closing it just as _Warbreaker_ emerges from the cloud of smoke. A Yak-3 is promptly shoved out of the way by the heavy machine, and it's crushed by Rift's Centurion III a few seconds later.

"Enemy bomber, 1 o'clock!" Nguyen says as he looks through the viewport of his commander's cupola, "HE that thing!" He spots a bomber taxiing towards the runway. "HE-111!"

"Roger that," Roscoe answers at the same time as he brings the turret to bear. "On target!"

"Fire!"

The sound of the tank gun firing resonates through the compartment as the shell is thrown back into the fighting compartment, dropping into the collection bin.

"This thing's lou…" Nguyen exclaims but is interrupted by an even louder explosion. "Holy shit that thing was fully loaded! Good shot Roscoe!"

"Thanks man! Got a multikill bonus!"

"Nice shot bro!" Nguyen says as he glances at where the HE-111 was. 10,000 pounds of explosives and aviation fuel getting lit up did a rather spectacular effect on the airfield. In its place is a burning crater filled with remaining bits of plane. Nearby fighters and bombers as well as trucks were hit by the blast and resulting shrapnel, rendering several aircraft useless, and some players are getting up off the ground after being thrown around like dolls.

 _{Baker One-Four is preparing to f-}_

The transmission is cut off by a gigantic explosion, and Stonewall looks out his cupola viewport towards where the M12 _should_ be, to find the self-propelled gun a twisted hulk of burning metal, with pieces of shrapnel raining down around it. His radio blares to life again.

 _{Baker One-Two here! DA FUCK JUST HAPPENED TABARNAK?!}_

"One-Four just exploded! Find the sunnuva bitch that did it!"

Nguyen doesn't wait long to answer.

 _{Roger that! I'll relay that to Kirito and everyone else! Any idea what got him though?!}_

Stonewall scans the airfield in front of his tank and quickly spots the culprit.

"Flak 40, twelve-thirty! Aria kill that bastard!"

The young woman doesn't hesitate as she traverses the turret and sends a shell downrange towards the offending artillery piece. She's faster on the draw as the Flak 40's crew doesn't have the time to fire back, and the gun is ruined by her shot, throwing it off its mount and killing the players crewing it.

 _{Good shot there Baker One-Actual!}_ Nguyen congratulates through the radio.

At the same time, Kirito and his squad battle their way through the trench. Bullets whiz around them as the enemy stiffly resists their advance. Not far from them is _'La Montréalaise_ ' who's guns are blazing. Suddenly a familiar sound fills his ears.

"Everyone down!" Klein shouts as he ducks his head behind the trench's wall. As his head barely makes behind cover, a large tracer barely misses the Fallschirmjager player and explodes nearby. "That was too close," he grunts as he tries to peer over to see what's firing, "Aw crap! It's one of those quick firing AA guns!"

The rest of the group take cover as more tracers dart over the trench line followed by shouting and whistle blows.

"They're counterattacking!" Asuna shouts as she covers her head, "That weapon that they have is powerful!"

"Just hang on!" Kirito yells back as dirt flies over him, "Nguyen and his boys'll take care of it!"

"I hope so!"

There's suddenly an explosion followed by a hail of machine gun fire, and the large tracers suddenly stop.

"They just took it out!" Liz says as she peers her head out, seeing the mangled remains of a large carriage mounted weapon as well as some very determined players rushing towards them over the airfield's cratered tarmac, guttural growls mixing in with their shouting.

"They have a troll!" Leafa shouts, "I'll take care of it!"

A large troll wearing a large steel helmet and steel plate charges forward toward them with a large steel beam. Bullets bounce off its thick armoured hide as it draws nearer, and the blonde player quickly loads her Garand's rifle grenade.

"I think you better hurry up Leafa!" Kirito shouts as he puts a few rounds on the massive creature while enemy players hide behind the monstrous creature, watching it shrug off fire.

Taking a deep breath, Leafa carefully aims at the advancing troll before squeezing the trigger. A loud 'pop', and the rifle grenade flies towards the monster, exploding against its chest and leaving a temporary smoke cloud. The troll stumbles for a moment and backtracks.

"Good shot Lea-Oh crap it's still alive!" Liz yells back with shock.

"Wha-?!"

The troll roars defiantly as it rips off the ruined remains of its armor and tosses it to the ground. Its blackened face shows clear rage as it begins charging forward again followed by the other players.

"It looks angrier!" Klein remarks nervously, "What are the tanks doing!?"

The clattering and squeaking of tracks behind them is almost enough to make them turn around, and it stops as the shadow of the vehicle casts down on the ALO crew hunkered down in the trench. A short whirring of the turret turning is barely audible over the sound of gunfire, but the tank makes its presence definite when a jet of flame arcs over the trench and splatters onto the troll, completely lighting him ablaze. The monster howls in pain as it swings its weapon around, hitting any unfortunate players and sending them flying like ragdolls. Screams of terror sound off as the enemy players try and get away from the rampaging monster. One rather unlucky player is sent flying into the trench, landing head-first into the wall next to Kirito, who barely dodges the incoming player. The unfortunate Italian trooper hits the wall with a loud crunching sound before nearly instantly disintegrating into a burst of pixelated shards. Kirito blows a quick sigh of relief, then returns to fighting again.

"I want that!" Klein exclaims in awe.

"Me too!" Liz yells, staring at the Sherman Crocodile in awe and childish excitement. The troll rampages for a few moments before being hit again. This time, its head is completely gone as it falls down and crushes a pair of players.

A familiar ripping sound is heard as a streak of red tracers dart out and meet the charging infantry head-on, cutting them down like a scythe to wheat. Some of the other infantry dive onto their stomachs and start firing back at Agil, who ducks down and moves a few yards down the trench before popping up again, cutting loose with several sustained bursts while multiple US garbed players sprint past behind him. Three players run up to Agil while he changes out the red-hot barrel, and one promptly slams down a low-profile tripod before another quickly fits a M1919 and starts laying down fire, ducking his head into the trench whenever tracers zip past.

"Ow! Sunnuva bitch!" one of the M1919 crew yells as he gets hit in the arm. Ignoring the injury he stands up again and shoots at the prone infantry on the tarmac while Asuna runs over to him and pulls a bandage wrap from her medical satchel. When he crouches down again he offers the wounded arm, and she quickly wraps it after sprinkling disinfectant powder on it. Once she's done he smiles and nods at her, then stands up to fire again, only for his head to jerk to the side as a loud 'plink!' rings out. Asuna only gets a brief glimpse at the hole in the side of his helmet before he disappears in a burst of shards, and she grimaces before running further down the trench as a player yells for a medic.

"You idiot," she mutters as she dashes through the trench while bullets whiz above her head towards the injured player. At the same time, there are other players inside the trench who are firing back, making for an almost cinematic view to the chaotic battle raging around her.

"Over here! Medic!" yells a large player clad in Soviet Marine gear as he holds another man a few feet from her. Asuna recognizes the groaning man whose pained expression changes to a small grin upon seeing her.

"Klein!"

"Took you long enough," he grunts as he holds his side, "Lucky bastard got me in the ribs!"

"I'll have you fixed up in no-" Asuna replies before being interrupted by shouting. Three players clad in the same gear as Klein drop into the trench with hostile intent in their eyes and red markers above their heads. The Soviet Marine drops Klein in the mud filled trench before picking up his mud covered rifle. Trying to fire a shot, his gun jams and the three players empty a few rounds from their MP40's.

"OH CRA-" Klein yells as he closes his eyes and raises a hand, expecting to get eliminated. Gunshots ring out, followed by screams of pain and the distinct sound of players disappearing, but much to his surprise upon opening his eyes, he sees Asuna leaning over to patch him up.

"Thanks Asuna!" Klein cheers before a nearby squad leader stands up in the trench.

"Somebody get me fire on that tow-"

 _*Ping!*_

 **Xx-xX**

In a nearby treeline, not far from the roaring inferno of battle, a lone player in white camouflage crawls on her stomach, holding a sniper rifle. When _Warbreaker_ crashed through the enemy lines, Sinon had leapt off the tank and quickly sought cover where she could attack stealthily. She had gotten a few kills on unfortunate players who were in the open for too long, and she relocated constantly, leaving as soon as she had a kill. She had made her way to a spot where she could easily see the control tower, and upon raising her binoculars, Sinon notices a barrel sticking out of the window followed by a single flash emerging from the muzzle. What catches her attention is how the player leans out of the window followed by him firing another shot.

' _Looks like someone's being greedy.'_ she muses as she adjusts her aim, ' _Amateur.'_

Taking a deep breath, she steadies herself as she readies to pull the trigger.

' _There's almost no challenge to this. Pity.'_

As she starts to put pressure on the trigger, the window, and the sniper, disappear in a flash and a bunch of flying rubble. She pulls her head away from the scope and looks at the tower to see the entire wall missing, and smoke curling from the nearby gun of _Warbreaker_ as Rift's Centurion and two M3 halftracks charge forward.

' _Dammit Stonewall! That was my kill!'_

 **Xx-xX**

"Alright! Get the hell off and go get 'em!" Rift yells out his open hatch as his gunner slowly traverses the turret, giving a long burst from the coaxial M1919 to pin down several enemy players.

"Thanks for the ride!" Mandalore cheers back while him and his crew jump off the engine deck, quickly being joined by Rhinodex and his group before they all charge into the control tower. Once inside, Dex kicks in the first door and steps to the side as two of his men throw grenades into the room, waiting for both detonations before storming in, guns blazing.

Mandalore shakes his head and starts up the stairs with his Sten at the ready, letting Dex's unit clear the first floor while him and his colleagues take the second floor.

"Ready to go girls?" he asks, looking at Masterchief117 and Redfury as they stand before the staircase

"I've been itching for this ever since we got here! Let's do it!" The shock trooper responds enthusiastically, pressing the stock of her PPSH-41 against her shoulder. The trio move into the stairwell which is scarred by battle. Bullet holes and shrapnel mark the walls, occasionally interrupted by black scorch marks while the stairs are littered with debris. They can hear the sound of the raging battle outside and see light from flares filtering through large holes.

"Keep an eye out," Mandalore orders, "They might be waiting for us."

Redfury grins as she turns a corner in the stairs, weapon raised.

"That's why it'll be fun dear."

She hears a grunt from Masterchief117 before a pair of gunshots ring out on the first floor.

"Don't get too confident… remember that time in Lyon?" the paratrooper remarks as they reach the entrance of the second floor, "In that mess hall?"

"We don't talk about that time," Redfury replies smoothly, "Anyways, it's showtime."

The Soviet shock trooper kicks in the door and is met with a blast of cold air. Her teammates follow her in.

"Christ it's cold up here!"

The trio hear the familiar of machine gun fire and they spot a player dressed in IJA fatigues lying on the ground behind a Type-92 machine gun. He is clearly injured, as his uniform is ripped in certain places and pixels leave his body. An audible "clack" resounds followed by the player loosing a blue streak of words and starting to fight with the mechanism, completely oblivious to the presence of the three players. "God damn motherfucking cheap piece of shit!"

"Surprise motherfucker!" Redfury shouts as she squeezes the trigger of her PPSH-41. The player barely registers what's going on before disappearing in a blur.

"Room clear!" Mandalore shouts after he and his team scan around the shattered control room, "Someone get on that MG!" he barks, "I'll take a look at anything useful."

Masterchief117 crews the machine-gun and tries to figure out what caused it to jam, running through the unjamming procedure in the manual. At the same time, Mandalore and Redfury locate an intact radio.

"Who the fuck designed this thing?!" she snarls, cursing both the real world weapon designer and the devs that implemented the weapon in game, "It's completely messed up."

"Kijiro Nambu. We implemented it so people could have a cheap heavy machine-gun if they wanted one, not to mention historical value for player movies 'n' shit." Dex laughs as he walks in. "Thing makes a better paperweight than anything else."

"Well this thing sucks," she retorts, "I think it'd be better if I threw this thing at someone than try and shoot it!"

"You're welcome to try. It's 122 pounds with the tripod." Dex chuckles while his guys file past to the third floor.

"Cut the chatter gang," Mandalore says seriously, "I managed to get something on their radio. We better get our asses off here."

"Alright then. Skip the top floor lads! Everyone out!" Dex yells as his group look at him in confusion.

"What the hell's going on?" The female paratrooper asks, getting up from behind the machine gun.

"They figured out we took the tower and are about to blast it to bits!" Mandalore replies as he's about to get out of the room.

"With what?"

"Oh fuck! That's a KV-2!" One of Dex's men yells while looking out a window opposite in the room from the missing wall.

"Get the fuck out! GO!" Dex yells, shoving one of his men through the door. "MOVE!"

 **Xx-xX**

"MERDE!" Nguyen shouts, "That KV-2 is gonna take out the control tower! Roscoe, KV-2 1'o clock!"

The sound of the turret traversing fills his ears as he watches his field of view move. The massive KV-2's turret is a few seconds from acquiring its target.

"I don't think I'll get him in time!" Roscoe shouts, sweat dripping from his brow as he works the turret control.

Meanwhile in the assistant driver's seat, Lou pets the tank's hull.

"Come on old girl, you can do it!" he barks while firing the bow gun at the monstrous tank.

"Fuck we're too late!" Nguyen yell as he sees the turret of the KV-2 stop and the gun slightly elevate. A volley of curses fill _'La Montréalaise'_.

A loud explosion resonates through the airfield, momentarily distracting everyone. Nguyen's jaw is agape.

"What the fuck?!"

Through his vision block, he sees a burning hole where the KV-2 used to exist. Around the charred crater, the ground is scorched and a few pixel trails rise into the air.

"Holy fuck, someone got that bitch in time," he says, barely believing it. Quickly switching to his radio, Nguyen contacts the other tank commanders.

"This is Baker-One-Two. Who the fuck got the KV-2? That was a good shot."

 _{Ehhh… One-Two, this is One-Actual… probably that scrawny little shit that went AWOL, who is currently climbing onto your tank.}_

There's a brief pause.

"Wut?" Nguyen says flatly. He suddenly hears knocking on his turret roof as well as a very muffled voice.

 _{One-Two… There's a little shithead on your turret. Send him my way please?}_

"Right!"

Nguyen reaches for his M1911, drawing from his hip holster before opening his hatch, his pistol pointing at the opening. As the hatch opens, he sees a small silhouette.

"Boy am I happy to see you guys!" Recon exclaims, "I almost got killed again!"

"Ok," Nguyen says as he pulls himself out of the turret and holsters his pistol, "What the hell just happened kid?" The tank commander can't help but notice Recon's new gear. M-1 Helmet and trenchcoat along with winter camo over it.

"Euh well, it's kind of uh a long story," the scout replies nervously, "It started when-."

"Right, listen man," the tank commanders interrupts, "Freakin' euh Stonewall's over there in that big tank," he points, "He wants to talk to you. You'd better haul your ass over there understood?"

Recon nods before jumping off, but not before hearing Nguyen yell something at him.

"Keep your fucking head down! Snipers are a thing here!"

The scout starts running hunched over as quickly as he can towards Stonewall's tank, ignoring the tracers that fly inches from his head before their source is silenced by the 90mm gun of _Warbreaker_. Nguyen shakes his head before turning his attention to the control tower. Raising his binoculars, he sees a few flashes before seeing an unfortunate IJA trooper being thrown out of the tower, weapon falling alongside him.

"Sucks to be you man," he mutters with a grin as he sees the trooper disappear, "Very shamefur dispray. Very dishonorabru. Disgrace on your famiry"

Nguyen chuckles when he suddenly sees a Soviet Shock Trooper picking up her weapon.

 _{Baker One-Two, One-Actual. Thanks for sending his bitch ass over here. I'm gonna bitch slap him and send him back to Liege unless you want a couple extra inches of soft armor on your slope.}_

"Right man… well, just send him to join up the rest of the infantry. They can use a few more bodies," he answers nonchalantly before switching into a fake accent "Also, the control tower has been secured in very honorabru fashion. Very honorabru dispray."

 _{Rrrrroger that. Be advised, the flyboys are two minutes out, so don't freak when you hear planes.}_

"Right! What's the situation around you guys?"

By now, the sound of gunshots and the light of tracer fire were dying down. Everywhere around the airstrip lay the ruined remains of planes and vehicles, some popping occasionally as the fires cause ammunition to cook off. Nguyen could see players tending to their injured comrades as the other two platoons from Baker work on crushing and destroying any of the undamaged planes. He notices Kirito and his friends moving around no far from his tank, dragging or carrying injured players to a medical half-track that sits protected by four Sherman Fireflies.

"Hey guys! If you need extra medical supplies, we got some in the tank!" he shouts towards the ALO players. Asuna's head turns and she raises her thumb before jogging towards the tank.

 _{Baker One-Actual, this is Charlie One-Actual. Be advised, enemy radio reports that the enemy is counter attacking. Multiple armored and mechanized units, with air support inbound from Essen-Mulheim.}_ Dex reports over the radio.

 _{Copy that. All elements, this is Baker One-Actual, mount up and withdraw immediately. We. Are. Leaving.}_

Nguyen shouts from his tank.

"Can that idea Asuna," he replies, "We're getting out of here now! Hey guys, hop on!" The tank commander then orders Dick to drive towards the ALO players before quickly picking them up.

Other players quickly stream towards trucks, half-tracks and tanks from different points of the airfield. After a few moments and quick headcount, Nguyen radios Stonewall, confirming with him that all his passengers on board.

 _{That's affirmative. I've got my chock, plus one. All units, fall back to phase line Red. Let's get the fuck outta here.}_

 **Authors' afterword:**

 **Well, is this one of Michael Bay's wet dreams? I certainly didn't expect having so much stuff exploding but I guess attacking an airfield and parked warplanes with a crapton of tanks is gonna make that kind of thing happen. I hope you guys laughed as much as we did when we wrote this chapter.**

 **On a different note, if anyone wants to draw fanart for this, feel free to do so and just contact us afterwards. Just do it if you want to though, we're too broke to commission stuff. -Goodalwayswins98**

 **Not enough explosions, should've had the M12 shoot a Stuka. Any fanart is on you, but we could start a bit of a competition, good fanart gets honorable mention, OR possibly becomes the cover of the fic!- SirStonewall**

 **Next up, Chapter 7: A Change Of Scenery!**


	7. A Change Of Scenery!

**Chapter 7: A Change Of Scenery!**

 **K2-Black-Panther, my man. Thanks for the enthusiastic review on chapter six. You'll get your Firefly's soon, I promise. A major thanks to everyone else that reviewed the last chapter. Keep the reviews rolling, and as always I hope you enjoy the chapter! - SirStonewall**

 **To all our reviewers… you guys rock! Feel free to send us ideas in your reviews. Enjoy this new chapter of War-Torn - Goodalwayswins98**

 **Real Life,**

 **1146,**

 **War-Torn Studios** ,

 **Hood River, Oregon.**

"Hey Jackson! Good to see you!"

"Hello Maria. Been awhile. Good to see you too." Stonewall replies to the desk clerk as he wheels himself into the front lobby. Much like his in-game avatar, the American sports a well-kept head of red hair, with a goatee under his chin being the first major difference. The other being the simple wheelchair he uses to push himself around.

"Here for the meeting?" The brunette woman asks with a friendly tone, opening the door to the office cubicles.

"That I am. Aria should be in pretty soon, she's talking with Alice." He responds while wheeling himself through the doorway.

"Okay! I'll keep an eye out for them. The meeting is in the lunchroom."

"Thanks again."

Pushing himself down the hall over the multi-colored carpet he smiles, waving at some of the people he passes until he reaches the break room. There, he pushes the door open and wheels himself through to people laughing.

"Holy shit! If it isn't the cripple himself!" A guy yells from across the table, acting surprised.

"Fuck off Mikey, I ain't a cripple."

"Bro, you are literally sentenced to a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

"I'll say again. I'm not a cripple." Stonewall says seriously as he pushes himself forward to an empty spot at the table.

"Whatever…"

"Are you two done having a bromance?" A redheaded woman asks with her arms crossed.

"Oh shit? Alice when the hell did you get in here?" Stonewall asks.

"Before you did. Your fiance's getting the map from Adam's office, since he's sicker than hell today."

"Oh. Okay."

The door opens a few seconds later and a man that could best be described as a lumberjack steps in, a laptop under one arm. "Alright people! Down to business."

Stonewall looks over his shoulder and extends his arm up above his head, earning a high-five while the authority figure walks past. "Hey bossman."

"Hey Jackson, good to see you- first up, we've gotta figure out how to break this stalemate. Let's hear ideas."

"Dex, I got one." Alice says as she raises her hand.

"Go ahead."

"How about we start an NPC bombing campaign for Alliance against Pact? Make escorting the planes a daily quest."

Dex sits down at the head of the table and opens his laptop, quickly typing in it. "It's an idea to consider. Anybody else?"

"I've got one." A scrawny intern says as he raises his hand.

"Go ahead."

"What if we make quests at opposite ends of the front for opposite factions? Say Pact has a goal of capturing Brussels, and Alliance has a goal of capturing Marseille?"

Dex smiles and types on his computer, then looks around. "Third option anyone?"

Stonewall raises his hand. "Dexter, I've got a good one for you."

"Let's hear it."

"What if we encourage the players to open up a new front in either Norway or Italy?"

"And how would we encourage them?"

"Dungeon bonuses, regional XP and credit bonuses."

"That's a good idea, but . . . we couldn't get enough players for a new front, much less an invasion."

"Give those that do sign up for the mission enough support to make a beachhead and others will follow. They'd need NPC's for defense, but other than that it would take minimal effort on our part."

"We can't spawn anymore defensive AI without buying another server. It's barely supporting the current Malta offensive. Italy is not possible." Mikey informs.

"Plus, those are high difficulty regions. Players won't want to fight there." One of the moderators says.

"Not that it matters anyways because the servers can't support anymore defensive AI." Alice sighs.

"You motherfuckers-" Stonewall growls, wheeling his chair back a foot or so before reaching down and undoing the clamps holding his feet in place on the footrests. Some of the people at the table give him strange looks, then quickly get up to try and help him when he grabs the armrests and starts to lift himself out of the wheelchair.

"Getchyer goddamn mitts off me!" He snarls, pushing himself up so he's leaning on the table. With a grunt of effort he locks his knees before standing up straight, looking around the table. "If I hear any of you lot say we can't do something one more time, I'm gonna try walking next! Now, let's hear solutions!"

"Finance, do we have the funds to upgrade the servers?" Dex asks quickly.

"We do, but we'd have to postpone development for Hell-Bound."

"How long?"

"Two weeks."

"That's perfect. We all need a break from development, and the servers need to be upgraded anyways. Mike, how soon can we have them upgraded?"

"Provided our shipping company doesn't drop the ball, we can have it done by next Friday with a couple hours of downtime to transfer files."

"Get it done. There, Jackson please for the love of God sit down." Dex pleads.

Stonewall grins and falls back into his wheelchair, pushing the chair back up to the table before setting about re-securing his feet to the footrests. "See? Now that wasn't so hard."

"You are one crazy sunnuva bitch, man." Mikey sighs.

"Maybe, but if I recall, y'all hired me and invite me to these meetings 'cuz I know how to get results. Well, I just got results. Hell, I'll personally spearhead the landings too."

A silence falls upon for room for a moment before Dex coughs into his fist and looks up from his computer. "Well uh…. Since Hell-Bound is being laid off temporarily, this meeting is concluded."

 **Xx-xX**

"Bring it back a little more! Little more! Liiittle mo- Woah!" Stonewall yells as he guides a truck back towards the snow covered tent tucked back in the trees. The truck lurches to a halt and the driver shuts off the engine while the tank commander steps into the tent and slides around Rift, who is carrying a radio set out the open tent flap. "Everyone get the radios 'nd shit loaded into the truck! Who's pulling guard duty on the tanks?"

"Seth and his boys!" Someone grunts back as they lift up a radio set.

"Good. Has anyone seen Nguyen and his boys?"

"Uh… try the salvage yard Sir." Rift's Gunner says with uncertainty.

"Try Paris." Aria jokes, drawing a laugh out of everyone.

"I'm here girls- hey where'd everyone go?" Rift jokes with a nasal tone.

"Shit, that Recon kid is getting to be better than Nguyen. You hear what he did during the airfield raid?"

"Yeah. The little shit ran up to a KV-2 and put a satchel charge under the overhang of the turret. Crazy little bastard, but he learns quick."

"Hey, stow that shit. Nguyen's got his moments sure, but we all do." Stonewall snaps. "Plus he's more reliable on attendance than any of you bastards. If he says he's going to be there, _he's going to be there._ "

"Hey guys!" Nguyen yells, "How's everyone doing?"

Appearing almost out of thin air is ' _La Montréalaise'_ and its crew rumble around the corner into town.

"Well shit, speak of the devil himself." Stonewall mumbles, walking out of the tent while the crew parks their tank just inside the treeline. "Hey! Need you to help get everything packed up and ready to roll!"

"No worries, we'll give you guys a hand," Tony says as he climbs off the tank.

"Tent needs to be taken down, radio antenna needs to be collapsed, and the ammunition trucks need to be guarded, so take your pick." Stonewall instructs before quickly jogging off.

"I'll go grab the radio antenna," Lou suggests, "What about you Dick?"

"I'll work on the tent," he answers flatly as he makes his way to the tent.

"I'll give a hand at the ammo trucks," Roscoe says, equipping his Thompson.

"Coming with you Roscoe," Tony adds, equipping his Grease gun.

"Nguyen!" Aria calls, waving the Canadian over to where she's leaning on a table.

As Nguyen walks over, a Fallschirmjager Lieutenant jogs up to Aria and salutes her. "Good day ma'am. Where can I find Stonewall?"

"Euh he's somewhere around here... " She responds after returning the salute. "Try looking over by _Warbreaker_. If he's not there, ask around."

"Thank you." The Lieutenant huffs before jogging off towards the long line of tanks tucked back in the trees.

"What's up Aria?" Nguyen asks, looking at the map laid out on the table.

"We're repositioning to get ready to spearhead an assault. I need to know if you want to be in the first wave with us. If not you'll be following up and rejoining us once we've broken through enemy lines."

"We heading to Italy next right?" Nguyen checks, "We'll be in the first wave if possible."

"Awesome. Next stop, Palermo. Make sure you've got a full load of ammunition when we load on the LST's, that means extra machine-gun ammunition and main gun rounds if you can fit it on the engine deck." She sighs and stretches. "Cologne is an easy difficulty area, but Sicily is a hard difficulty area, so make sure you and your guys are on your game. Any questions?"

"What's the weather like over there? Sunny Italy I hope?" Nguyen asks, "If we're coming off landing ships, I'd rather do it in good weather."

"Wouldn't we all. It's supposed to be sunny when we make our landing, but we both know how the weather generation system can be sometimes."

Nguyen shakes his head.

"Good weather means not the storm of the century. As long as the ship ain't rocking back and forth or sinking because of big waves, it's good enough."

"There's no guarantees, but we're making our landing on next Saturday, storm of the century or not. We've for sure got the hardasses from the 10th Mountain Division landing with us, but we've got no air cover, and from what I'm hearing there's only a couple ships to cover the landings. This stays hush-hush until we're on the ships. Compris?"

The Canadian winks and smiles. "Cette conversation n'a jamais eu lieu."

"Good man. Thanks. Get fueled and loaded up with ammo when your boys are done helping. We've got to take our own ammunition with us, and we don't get a supply depot until we've got a solid beachhead developed."

"Right, I'll go fetch some more ammo for the tank," Nguyen replies as he exits the tent, "Kirito and his gang'll be here soon from what he told me."

Making his way towards the supply depot, Nguyen can see the familiar faces of Baker busying themselves. Tents are being disassembled and crates are being packed. Some players inspect vehicles and equipment while others leave the town. He can see his crew give a helping hand to players who need it. Dick is pulling out tent posts while Lou is loading radios into a truck. Meanwhile, Roscoe is checking player ID's near an ammo truck while Tony is carrying around crates of ammo. Trucks and cars are driving up and down the roads, filled with various equipment and players. Through this busy hive of activity, Nguyen arrives at the supply depot.

"Hello there!" he says as he reaches the supply clerk's desk after a short wait in line. The sitting British clerk stands up, a mug of coffee steaming next to a pile of papers and some clipboards.

"How can I help you today sir?" the NPC asks as a list appears next to him. Nguyen scrolls quickly through the list.

"I'll need 4 cases of .50cal, 4 cases of .30cal, 4 Jerry cans of fuel," he replies paying before the necessary Requisition points. Opening up his inventory, the tanker checks to see how many shells his tank has left as well as the ammo for his Thompson. He also materializes a small notepad and a pencil before calculating.

"Thompson's gonna need 60 rounds to top it off," he mutters, "Dammit, what are we facing over there?"

Picking ammunition for the main gun is a bit more problematic as tankers usually tried to pick just the right mix of shells for the battle. The 76mm gun on his Sherman had quite a few picks of ammo. It takes him a few moments as he tries to figure out what loadout to have.

"Hmm, 40 M62, 20 M93, 6 M88 and 5 M42A1 should do the trick." he mumbles to himself before ordering what was necessary to top off his inventory, "Let's hope Italy's worth it."

Making his way back to where his friends were, he spots some familiar faces spawn.

"Hey guys!" he shouts as he sees Kirito and his friends appear.

"Hey Nguyen!" Kirito shouts back as well as the rest of the ALO crew. After some quick greetings, the ALO players notice the activity around them.

"What's going on exactly?" Asuna asks as she watches trucks pass by her with players on them, "Is it because of the "Showdown in Sicily" Event?"

"Yup," Nguyen replies, "Ever since the devs announced the Double EXP and Double Requisition as well as 1.5 times more loot drops, everyone's shifting to Sunny Italy. It'll get us out of this cold weather so everyone wants to go."

Sinon looks thoughtfully as she hears Nguyen's briefing.

"Italy, there's gonna be a lot of mountains right?" she asks while she tried to remember the dev diaries she had read on War-Torn. Nguyen nods in confirmation before gesturing them to start walking.

"I remember that one of the devs wrote that the Italian theater has tougher AI and monsters. Not to mention that the terrain is horrible to navigate in," Sinon adds, "Lots of rivers, muddy roads and valleys."

"That's the case," Nguyen answers, "There's also more interesting dungeons in Italy according to scouts and rumours. Unfortunately, said dungeons are also filled with tougher critters."

Silica looks up in worry while holding Pina's leash.

"What kind of monsters exactly?" she squeaks out with worry.

"Eh good question there," Nguyen admits, "I've only heard rumours but there's stuff like trolls though the wackier rumours mention ghosts in certain dungeons and places. Doesn't make sense though-"

He's interrupted by a gasp. Asuna stops and pales.

"Ggg-hhosts?!" she blurts out, her face clearly showing nervosity.

"Yup… as I was saying though, that doesn't make sense at all… I mean how are we supposed to kill ghosts with our guns?" Nguyen says before noticing Asuna's change in disposition, "Euh you afraid of ghosts?"

"I'm not afraid of ghosts!" she retorts haughtily, hands on her hips, "I just don't like them!"

A sly grin appears on Liz's face.

"Shut up! You're totally afraid of ghosts," she remarks while snickering, "Never thought I'd see the day when the Berserk Healer would be scared of something."

Asuna glares at Liz, a thousand daggers forming in her eyes.

"For your information, I am not afraid of ghosts!" the medic retorts dryly, "I just happen to have a very strong dislike of them."

The rest of the ALO crew start grinning and Klein starts snickering at their medic's predicament.

"I still remember that sleepover on Halloween," Liz continues, "You weren't so brave. I'll never forget that scream."

Even Kirito can't hold in his smile.

"Shut up!" Asuna screeches, glaring at Liz.

Nguyen gets a slightly awkward look on his face before clearing his throat.

"Euh well, we're not really sure if there's really ghosts there. It's a rumour but the scouts in Italy never confirmed it. If no one confirmed it then it ain't real for me."

"Besides that, aren't you guys bummed about moving to another theater?" Asuna asks, trying to change the conversation.

"Not really, I just liked fighting here cause I'm more familiar with the map of Western Europe than Italy."

"Don't you guys have a player home?" the medic asks, "Wouldn't it be far to go from Italy to here?"

"Speaking of player home," Leafa asks, "Can we visit your place one of these day?"

Nguyen stops and looks at her in curiosity.

"My place?"

"Yeah, your player home? Like those Italian guys we fought," Leafa says.

There's a glint of realization in the tanker's eyes.

"We don't have actually a player home if you don't count that tent we usually brief you guys in," he answers sheepishly.

"I'm not really surprised," Asuna remarks snarkily, "Considering your bad taste in food, I didn't expect you to have a player home."

Nguyen crosses his arms and rolls his eyes.

"I don't have bad taste-"

*WHACK!*

"Yes you do, you're still using a Sherman." Stonewall interrupts the Canadian by smacking him on the helmet. "Hey y'all."

Nguyen merely groans in annoyance.

"Don't talk shit on my tank ok- What the hell?"

The Canadian's rant is interrupted by the sound of a dog growling.

"What's going on Silica?" Kirito asks, looking around for anything unusual. The small girl looks up.

"There's an enemy player around here!"

The group all tense up, looking for anything unusual as they follow Silica and Pina through the base.

By the truck with the radios being loaded in the back, Aria is talking with a player in a tanker uniform. She stops her conversation and looks at Pina, seeing the dog with its hackles raised and its lip curled while it growls at the tanker in front of her, then looks back at him just as he pulls a bayonet and lunges at her, seeing other players nearby grabbing weapons while looking directly at him. The petite gunner jumps back and takes three more steps backward before drawing the TT-33 on her hip and firing four times from the hip, downing him before taking another step back and firing the last four while aiming down the sights. As she swaps the magazine in her pistol, the infiltrator disappears in a flurry of pixels, and she quickly holsters the weapon before quietly cursing. The sound of a crate falling is followed by yelling.

"HEY TABARNAK! DA FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" Dick roars as he runs over with Lou at his side. Both have their weapons drawn. Tony and Roscoe arrive soon after from their post.

"It's a fucking infiltrator that tried to assassinate Aria," Lou spits, "You ok boss?"

"That scared the shit outta me, but yeah I'm fine." Aria huffs, running her fingers through her hair.

"Thank god Silica and Pina were around eh?" Nguyen remarks, his Thompson drawn and his eyes darting around for any sign of trouble.

"Is everything ok Silica?" Kirito asks, "Does Pina know something else is wrong?"

Silica shakes her head.

"I think we're ok."

"Phew," Nguyen breathes a sigh of relief, "That's enough thrills for today."

"Hey… Sinon you okay?" Stonewall asks, looking at the sniper, who has a slightly wild look in her eyes and stumbled a few steps backwards. She starts breathing heavily and shaking, mumbling something under her breath that's barely audible. The sniper suddenly drops to the ground.

"Sinonon?!" Asuna asks in shock as she and the rest of the ALO gang run over to their friend, "What's going on?"

"Looks kinda like she's having some sort of flashback. Might be PTSD." Aria mutters as she quickly jogs over, putting an arm across Sinon's back and rubbing her shoulders.

"Get her out of here! There's a tent that's still up over there!" Nguyen barks as he points a nearby empty tent, "We'll make sure no one pokes their nose inside. Right les boys?"

The crew of _La Montrealaise_ all nod before they take up positions around the group.

Kirito suddenly straightens up as he has a realization.

"Aria, unequip your pistol! Just do it." he orders with an urgent tone, "I think I know what happened."

"Huh? Okay." Aria mutters, swapping the Tokarev out for a Smith & Wesson model 10. Sinon starts to calm down a bit. The whole group, by now, has gotten inside the tent with Dick and Lou guarding the entrance and making sure no one enters. Aria manages to get Sinon to an empty cot while everyone else is standing around her with worried looks.

"Hey, Sinon? It's okay. You're safe, nothing's happening. Look at me here, hey." Aria talks to the sniper quietly with a soothing motherly tone, finally getting her attention. "What happened back there?"

Nguyen pulls off his helmet and looks at Sinon in the eyes before materializing a chocolate bar from his inventory.

"Here, eat this," he gently orders, "It'll help."

The sniper doesn't respond, her eyes still fixed in terror. Nguyen awkwardly pulls back his hand.

"I don't like using this technique. Somebody, canteen please." Aria mutters, looking around. Roscoe materializes his canteen before shaking it a bit.

"Here, it's full." he says as he hands the metal container to Aria.

The gunner screws off the cap and gently shakes Sinon one more time before sighing and splashing her in the face with some water.

"GAH!" Sinon shrieks before panting and frantically looking around. Besides the inside of the tent and its cots, she only sees the worried faces of her friends.

"Sinon, hey, what happened?" Aria asks, screwing the cap back onto the canteen and passing it behind her back to Roscoe. The sniper shivers as she struggles to form a sentence.

"Th-that gun."

Nguyen turns his head towards the ALO crew with a serious look.

"Did something like this ever happen to Sinon?" he asks with worry.

Leafa lowers her head in sadness.

"We weren't there but Kirito was," she answers, "Asuna, Agil, Liz and him know the full story about Sinon's condition."

Kirito nods his head as Pina whines, moving towards Sinon and putting her head on the sniper's lap.

"I saw her once panic like this," Kirito replies sadly. "Me, Asuna, Liz and Agil know exactly why."

"Mind sharing? I've got training for this kind of thing, but that doesn't help if I don't know what happened." Aria points out, looking back at Kirito.

"I'm not sure if Sinon wants me to…" he answers nervously, "It's very delicate for her."

"I have an idea," Nguyen says looking at Sinon, "Can he tell us if you can't?"

She merely nods at this before opening her mouth again.

"Yes."

"Thank god," Nguyen mutters before turning to Kirito and Asuna, "So what euh exactly happened with her?"

"Sinonon had a traumatic incident when she was a child," Asuna soberly explains, "She was caught in a robbery at a post office with her mother-"

"Good lord!" Nguyen exclaims. His mind runs wild with what possibly happened. The possibilities aren't pleasant to imagine.

"Nguyen, if you don't have anything helpful or constructive to add to the conversation, please take your boys outside and guard the trucks." Aria sternly instructs, her tone brooking no argument.

"Sorry! Go on Asuna."

"There was a fight," Kirito adds, "Somehow Sinon gets a hold of the robber's gun while trying to protect her mother-."

He's interrupted by Sinon.

"I killed him," she mutters while rocking back and forth, "I murdered him… with that _gun._ "

"Oh," Nguyen says in realization. He pieces back the events and remembers when Kirito told Aria to stow away her TT-33. Was the gun that she used?

At this point, Stonewall politely nudges his way through the group and crouches down beside Aria in front of the sniper, placing a hand on Sinon's shoulder.

"Hey, listen." He gently instructs, looking her in the eyes. "You did what was necessary to survive, and quite frankly it's amazing you took action. It's much better that you killed him instead of the other way around, yeah?"

Nguyen on the other hand struggles to keep quiet as he squirms around trying to say something intelligent.

"Well fuck," he says pompously, "You're not a fucking murderer Sinon! Did you kill that fucker for fun? Do you feel that you can do it again?"

She vigorously shakes her head.

"Then you ain't a fucking murderer. I'd be wondering things if you started nodding-OW!"

Stonewall kicks Nguyen in the shin to shut him up before turning his attention back to Sinon while Roscoe and Tony snicker in the background.

"I know it was a hard experience for you, and that's why we're having this whole conversation, but it's because of that hard experience that we _can_ have this conversation. So I'd like to say one thing, from the bottom of my heart." Stonewall moves himself so he's directly in her line of sight, and looks her in the eyes. "Thank you, for doing what was necessary for you to survive."

Sinon looks up tearfully, a smile shyly appearing on her face.

"Do you mean that?" she asks between sniffles.

"He means it and I think we all think the same way here eh guys?" Nguyen says, looking at his crew. Roscoe and Tony nod in agreement while a grunt from Dick confirms.

"Of course I mean that. Why wouldn't I?" Stonewall says, offering Sinon a warm smile.

"Ahem, if isn't too indiscreet," Nguyen asks, nervously scratching the back of his head, "But why the hell do you think you're a murderer?"

"I'm going to guess that's what you got called a lot, right?" Aria asks, giving Nguyen a discrete motion to stop.

Sinon looks at them in surprise but nods at Aria.

"I killed someone."

"In self defense." Stonewall adds. Nguyen runs his hand on his chin.

"So did my dad when he was a soldier in '75," he replies, "No one except retards called him a murderer." He briefly pauses, "Honestly, you're a fucking hero."

"It's different in Japan dumbass." Stonewall snips, then looks at the ALO gang. "Right?"

They all sigh before Agil answers.

"Yeah, over here, people don't see it the same way as you guys do. For us, there's no way a child could do terrible things like taking a life except if that child was already evil. So people saw Sinon was a monster."

Nguyen's jaw drops.

"That's fucking retarded man-ack!"

Stonewall quickly stands up and smacks Nguyen upside the head. "Remember what Aria said about being constructive?"

"Sorry about that!" he blurts, "But for us over here, that's amazing that you saved a life and sad that you had to do it the way you did. Also, in some parts of the US, you'd have gotten a parade for that."

"I don't know about a parade, but at least a free meal." Stonewall sighs, opening his menu. "I'm gon' log out real quick. Be back in a few."

"Are you calling A-erm… sassy?" Aria asks.

"Yeah." Stonewall replies before logging out, disappearing in a shimmer of light.

"Alright…. Let's get things wrapped up and ready to roll. Sinon, if you'd like, you can go wait on _Warbreaker_ while we get this tent taken down." Aria offers.

Sinon nods and stands up.

"If you need anything," Nguyen proposes, "Don't hesitate to give us a holler." He then turns to Aria, "Now that's over… how can we help?"

 **Xx-xX**

"Twenty minutes until we're due to start." Stonewall mutters as he lounges on the engine deck of _Warbreaker_.

"The ships should open fire soon." Aria responds, feeling the ship shudder.

"Is every invasion like this?" Kirito asks from his seat atop the turret. He and the rest of the ALO crew are sitting around various places on the tank.

"Pretty much. Hurry up and wait. This one's different though, no air cover is gonna make the approach and the beach a complete bitch."

"Not to mention the pillboxes and bunker system that's set up." Rift grumbles.

"I wouldn't worry about that." The voice of a female player purrs from beside the tank, catching the attention of Stonewall.

"Hey there Sister. How ya' doin'?" He asks the tall brunette woman dressed in US GI fatigues, a pair of large cylinders on her back and only a pistol as her immediately evident weapon.

"I'm alright, ignoring the usual. I see you traded in your rustbucket."

"Damn straight. Climb on up here and sit down, meet the group that've been rolling with us." Stonewall offers his hand, and she grabs his wrist before pulling herself up onto the engine deck, looking around at everyone. As she sits down it becomes evident that the M1911A1 on her hip isn't her only weapon, because she takes off the pack frame holding the cylinders, revealing the object to be a M2-2 flamethrower.

"Everyone, please meet SassyLassie, also known as Amy. She's our local pyrophiliac." Stonewall says with a teasing grin, motioning towards the tall woman before she smacks him upside the head playfully.

"I just find the flamethrower challenging. It's nice to meet everyone." She says with a warm smile, giving a friendly little wave.

Kirito sits up and introduces everyone one by one, finishing with Pina. The soft-spoken girl smiles and nods respectfully to everyone, even leaning forward to scratch behind one of Pina's ears before looking at the entire crew, her gaze settling on Klein.

"You look familiar… but I can't put my finger on where I've seen you before…." She scowls at him for a few more moments, then shrugs and looks around at the group again. "So how'd you guys all meet?"

"Hey there gang!" Nguyen exclaims as he makes his way from the back of the LST where ' _La Montréalaise'_ is parked. The Canadian looks slightly greenish as the ship rocks back and forth. He and his boys are wearing the era-appropriate 'Mae West' life jackets.

"Hey Frenchie, how's life?" Amy asks, leaning over and offering a fist to him. He bumps her fist and braces himself against _Warbreaker_.

"Urgh, now I remember why I don't like being on ships IRL," he answers before putting his hand in front of his mouth, "Otherwise I'm doing great."

"Pff," Lou scoffs at Nguyen, "Softy. I'm doing great", he answers before high-fiving Amy, "Still didn't get blown up with those fuel tanks on your back?"

Roscoe rolls his eyes.

"Lou, I think she knows how to use that thing properly," he comments.

"Think we can get one of those Nguyen?" Tony asks in amazement, "We could get Dick to carry one considering how he likes danger."

"Could be fu-," the tank commander replies before being interrupted.

"Fuck you man! I'm not carrying a bomb on my back!" Dick barks back, "Do it yourself you wuss!"

Some of the others chuckle at this remark.

"It's less a bomb and more a pressure-cooker. I have been blown up a couple times. Mostly snipers and the like." Amy answers with a shrug. "The downsides of lugging this thing almost makes me wish I still had my sword elemental skills."

Both Liz and Sinon perk up in curiosity.

"Say, can you tell more about your flamethrower?" Liz asks, "It looks interesting to use."

"Short range, short use, and heavier than a fifteen year old. Engineers get an extra two seconds of use and a decreased detonation chance. That's pretty much all I care about."

"Oh so are you an engineer too?" Liz says enthusiastically.

"I am. Most of my skills are offensive-based though."

"Oh nice, I got some good repair skills and quite a few offensive skills," Liz compares as she opens up her skills menu.

"Amy, if you ever need someone to cover your back from snipers," Sinon suggests, "I can give you a hand." The sniper winks before holding out her hand for a handshake.

"It'd be much appreciated." Amy grabs her hand and shakes it firmly before Stonewall growls in frustration, followed by a bunch of pixels rising from his hand.

"Hey firebug, got a light? My lighter just broke."

Amy sighs and grabs the nozzle for her flamethrower, holding it over by the tank commander and pulling the front trigger, exposing a small flame for the player to happily light his cigarette. The sound of vomiting suddenly gets everyone's attention. Turning their heads over, they see Nguyen bent over a puddle of red pixels.

Roscoe sighs before facepalming.

"Nguyen… I told you not to eat before getting on the ship." he groans while Dick, Tony and Lou snigger. The gunner produces a handkerchief and hands to Nguyen.

"Urgh gross," Tony exclaims while pinching his nose. Asuna scowls at the tank crew's antics before rummaging through her medical pack and producing a box of pills.

"You could try and help your friend you know?" she says as she makes her way to Nguyen, "Here take these pills. They'll help with the seasickness."

Scarfing them down quickly, the tank commander thanks her.

"Going back on your question of how we all met," Kirito starts, looking at Amy. "All of us except for Sinon met on Sword Art Online."

Amy sits up a little straighter and looks at Klein. "Oh…. I guess that's where I've seen you before…"

"Eh?"

"You were always with your friends on floor 19."

"Floor 19?!" Klein blurts out.

"In that bar a block from the town square. I was the armored-up samurai your buddies were always hitting on."

Klein reddens like a tomato at this, earning some chuckles from everyone else.

"Oh, euh, oups."

As the laughter tapers off, the quiet rumbling of the interior of the LST is quickly shattered by a thundering of guns, followed by the staccato rattling and thudding of anti-aircraft weaponry.

"Sounds like it's showtime. We'll finish this chat later, eh?" Stonewall says as he gets up and stretches, feeling the vibrations of the ship's engines increase.

"We'll get back to our tank, right guys?" Nguyen declares before his crew nod in agreement, "What's the ETA by the way?"

"'Bout seven minutes. We start up on two." Rift responds.

"Right ladies and gents! Let's kick ass!" he boasts before turning towards the back of the ship and walking. An explosion shakes the LST, causing everyone to grab something nearby to avoid falling down. Silica and Pina are holding each other in fear while Asuna and Agil are trying to comfort them.

"I hope we make it to the shore soon!" Liz shouts, "I don't think they'll miss the next shot!"

"It'll really suck if our ship gets hit now," Klein adds, picking himself off the ground.

"OI! Shut the fuck up with that shit! You jinx us and I'm poking a hole in your Mae West!"

"Sorry man!" Klein replies. At the same time, pinging resonates through the hold of the LST.

"Those asshole are strafing us dammit!" Nguyen shouts before pausing and taking a look at his watch, "Can't this fucking ship move faster?!"

"Quit bitching and get your ass in the tank!" Stonewall yells back.

'I'm already in my tank man!" Nguyen shouts back, "Hell Dick's ready to start driving any second now!"

"Good for him!"

A quiet wail starts from above as the ventilation hatches overhead are opened, allowing more light into the vehicle bay as the anti-aircraft effort on deck doubles, followed by someone yelling. "Shit that one's coming for us!"

Through the ventilation hatch there's a flash of orange, followed by the wail of the Stuka's sirens getting quieter, ending in a splash.

 _{Vehicle bay prepare for landing. Vehicle bay prepare for landing.}_ The LST's announcement system warns after a few tense minutes of listening to the dive bombers make attacks.

The sound of engines fill the bay as tank after tanks roar to life one by one, the Ford GAA engine of Stonewall's Super Pershing making the air practically vibrate inside the enclosed space.

 _{Baker-one-actual, this is Baker-one-two. Comms check!}_

"One-Actual here, good check. One-Three, Sound off."

 _{Right! Thank god we got that new radio the other day eh? Thing works like a charm.}_

 _{One-Two avoid unnecessary chatter please. One-Three checking in.}_

"One-Four bitched out on us, comms check complete." Stonewall sighs before looking back at those sitting on his tank, getting a thumbs-up from Amy.

"Fucking wuss," Nguyen mutters to himself as he sits in his cupola, "You guys ready to go?"

His crew all answer in the affirmative just as the ship abruptly lurches to a halt. Seconds later, a klaxon sounds as the bow of the ship starts to open up, the ramp abruptly dropping onto the sandy beach.

 _{Baker let's fucking roll! Get off the beach and regroup at the rally point!}_ Stonewall orders as Warbreaker starts forward, rattling down the ramp and powering up the gentle sandy slope while Aria traverses the turret to the front.

"Punch it Dick!" Nguyen calls into his tank's intercom. He's answered by a grunt as the tank picks up speed. Raising his binoculars, the tank commander scans the seawall and the town beyond it, "So far, so good," he mutters before turning on his intercom, "Try not to hit every bump in the road eh?"

"Uh uh," Dick replies, "Ground's kind of soft though."

"Can't wait to see how Italy is," Roscoe comments while scrutinizing through his optics, "Looks nicer than snow-filled Belgium."

The Canadian crew continues chatting and monitoring the area around them. Meanwhile on _Warbreaker,_ Kirito and his friends are chatting with Stonewall.

"So Stonewall, is Amy really your sister?!" Kirito yells over the sound of the engine as they claw their way up the beach.

"Nah! But we've known each other for so long that I consider her my sister!"

"If I was his sister I might have to knock him around a little more!" Amy jokes as they drive past a burned-out M38 Wolfhound at the head of the beach. The heavy Super Pershing claws its way up a break in the seawall and onto the narrow streets as infantry emerge from the semi-ruined buildings and wave at them.

"Contact front, friendlies. It's Scott and his boys." Stonewall informs the other tanks before checking the .30 caliber in front of him, making sure it's loaded. _Warbreaker_ rolls to a stop and Stonewall pulls himself halfway out of his hatch, looking at Scott. "What's crackin'?!"

"We figured we'd wait for you guys! It's bad guy country from this point on!"

"Roger that!" Stonewall says with a thumbs-up before looking back at everyone riding on the engine deck. "Alrighty, everyone off!"

 _Warbreaker'_ s radio cracks to life.

 _{Baker-One-Actual, this is Baker-One-Two. I suggest you keep an eye out once you get into town. I got a bad feeling about this. Also, what happened to Scotty's M38?}_

"Roger that One-Two, I wasn't really planning on doing much else. I don't know what happened to his M38, you can ask him once we take a break." Stonewall replies with a roll of his eyes as everyone jumps off the tank and moves to the sides of the road, listening to Scotty's instructions.

"Keep plenty of spacing, stay to the sides of the road, and check where you're watching every once in a while. We already lost one guy to a booby trap."

"I'll stay towards the middle of the column. People like to single me out if I'm up front." Amy tells Kirito, putting her helmet on.

 _{Baker-One-Actual, this is leading the way?}_

"That's affirmative. We've got the armor in case something pops up in front of us." The American responds before ordering his driver forwards, making the ground shake as the track links slowly pound the ground one by one.

 _{Roger that! Over!}_

Meanwhile on _La Montréalaise,_ Nguyen and his crew close their hatches. It didn't hurt to be prepared. The early morning sunrays filtered through the vision slits between the clouds of rising smoke, making some areas darker than others.

"It's way too fucking quiet," Roscoe remarks tersely, scanning through his vision block.

"Bah well, considering that Scott and his gang didn't get shot," Tony replies confidently, "There's probably no one here."

Lou and Dick snort before shaking their heads.

"It'll be nice and calm and then fucking Stonewall'll get hit cause fuck us!" Dick grunts as their tank enters the town of Palermo. The streets are empty save for their tanks. Unlike Belgium, the streets are unscarred from battle, still pristine. Instead of ruined buildings and debris filled roads, there are intact houses, shops and various stands with wares in them. The tanks make their way through the empty streets, their crews and accompanying infantry carefully scanning for hostile presence and cautiously turn corners, making sure that nothing nasty waits for them.

"Shut up dude! You'll just fucking jinx us," Nguyen retorts as he rolls his eyes, "No need to make things worse."

 _{One-Two, -ive u-ome-}_ Stonewall crackles over the radio, the transmission coming in broken and heavily laden with static.

"Baker-One-Actual, you might want to get that radio checked," Nguyen comments, "I have trouble hearing you."

 _{One-Two,-y-ain?}_

"Negative, I hear fuckall." Nguyen replies, annoyed before muttering to himself, "Should have gotten a new radio."

"You gotta admit that I got lucky eh?" Tony remarks with a grin, "Improved radio as loot."

"Yeah."

In _Warbreaker_ 's turret, Stonewall growls in irritation as he closes his hatch and reaches back to the radio, checking the positions of the dials and knobs. "Of all the fucking times for the radio to start tweaking out… Aria, does the intercom still work?"

 _{Sure does. I've got you loud and clear.}_

"What the fuck…" Stonewall practically snarls, reaching back and slamming his fist down on the top of the radio before clicking on his handset. "One-Two this is One-Actual, comms check, over."

 _{-aker One-ctual, your radio is-}_

"Fucking piece of shit!" Stonewall snarls, continuing to tinker with the radio as _Warbreaker_ slowly approaches a T intersection in the road. The long gun jutting out in front of the tank sweeps back and forth watching the street in front of them while Aria's foot hovers above the triggers, but she doesn't report the intersection to Stonewall, thinking he already sees it.

As the tank passes through the intersection, it suddenly lurches to the side with a shower of sparks, and quickly rolls to a halt.

 _{The engine's hit!}_ The NPC driver reports.

"What the fuck?!" Stonewall yells, looking through the vision blocks down the intersection to see a pair of bay doors partially open, with a muzzle brake sticking out between them. "Target right! Three o'clock! AT gun!"

Aria makes use of the small add-on auxiliary generator and traverses the turret to the right as fast as the motor will allow, only getting the gun to the 1 o'clock position before it hits a building, halting its motion. Seconds later the NPC loader screams in pain and disappears as a jet of hot metal pierces the side of the turret, splattering around inside the tank as small-arms fire erupts outside. Stonewall recovers from the stunning effect in a couple seconds, as does Aria, just in time to hear the NPC assistant driver yell without the intercom.

"The ammunition is on fire!"

Without a moment's hesitation he unlatches his hatch and throws it open, hearing the loud boom of the first propellant charge cooking off as he pulls himself part way out of the hatch.

Visible to Nguyen and everyone else, Stonewall gets halfway out of the hatch before the ammunition fully starts cooking off, sending a jet of flame out the open hatch that fully engulfs him.

Yelling in pain, the tank commander pulls himself all the way out of the hatch and rolls off the turret of _Warbreaker_ , falling to the street in flames and flailing around for a brief second before pulling out his revolver and shooting himself, disappearing in a burst of pixelated shards.

"Ahh tabarnak!" Nguyen shouts, "Stonewall just got his ass kicked! Fuck!"

Grabbing his radio's handset, he begins immediately to issue orders.

"This is Baker-One-Two, Baker-One-Actual is out. I'm taking over command! What's your situation Baker-One-Three!?"

 _{One-Three is all green, on your six. Suggesting we fall back and wait for the main force.}_ Rift responds calmly, his Centurion chewing up the second floor windows of a building with its coaxial machine-gun as Aria scrambles out from underneath the burning Super Pershing and stumbles her way back towards Nguyen's tank.

"Kirito, get Aria and Asuna to cover!" he shouts, "Asuna, try and patch Aria up! The rest of yo-"

A gunshot barely misses him and ricochets off the top of the turret. "Calisse de tabarnak!" he swears before diving inside his tank for a quick moment.

"SNIPER!" Sinon shouts as she takes cover behind a stand and begins scanning for any signs of the shooter.

 _{One-Two get your head down. This might ring a little.}_ Rift warns while the gun elevates to fire at the building beside the Sherman. Sinon shoots at one of the windows, hitting the enemy sniper in the arm as he darts to cover.

"Roger that!" Nguyen replies, closing his hatch.

 _{. . . . One-Two disregard. The firebug's gonna get it.}_

Carefully opening his hatch, the Canadian tank commander hears the familiar ' _whoosh_ ' of a flamethrower as the second story of the building to his two o'clock erupts in flames, followed by screaming that quickly ends.

"If anything comes out of that building, eliminate it with extreme prejudice!" Nguyen orders before tapping on Roscoe's shoulder, "Put a shell in that building's second floor."

"Fuck that sniper?"

"Fuck that sniper!"

He gets a thumbs up from Klein and Kirito who train their weapons on the burning house's door as Aria jumps up onto the front slope and climbs onto the turret, ignoring the bullets plinking off the steel. At the same time, an explosion disintegrates part of the building's second floor.

As the masonry from the building falls to the street, Liz looks up from her cover behind a fruit stall. Taking a glance at a apartment on the side of Nguyen's tank, she notices a silhouettes darting around in the windows, some about to peer out. Acting quickly, she swings her rifle at the nearest window and fires a few rounds that sends some of the players back into cover.

"Leafa, Silica! Fire on that building!" she yells as she reloads her Garand. The two other girls nod and begin pouring fire on the windows. Leafa fires a grenade into one of the windows which explodes and eliminates a player. The engineer suddenly has a plan.

"Cover me girls!" Liz shouts as she dashes from her cover. Quickly equipping a satchel charge, she sets the timer as she takes cover behind some boxes next to the apartment building, quickly tossing her satchel charge before running back across the street. A loud explosion rocks the street as the building collapses and rains masonry, wood, and glass onto the street. Multiple pixel trails rise from the fallen building while a multikill announcement appears on her screen.

"Good job girls!" Nguyen barks after he sees the building collapse. Liz waves quickly before she starts firing again. The Canadian turns his attention to Aria. "Think we should pull the fuck out?"

"There's no point in staying here!" Aria orders as she stands on the engine deck and fires the M2.

"My thoughts exactly Aria!" he answers back, quickly relaying the order to Rift and Dick, "You told the rest of the infantry about that?"

"Scott already knows!"

"Right!'

"Pack it up folks! We're getting out of here!" Scott yells as he runs from cover to cover, ignoring the maelstrom of bullets that rips through the street. "Fall back behind the tanks and cover them as they back up!"

One by one Scott's group start to fall back out of the killzone, throwing a trio of smoke grenades down the road towards the burning _Warbreaker_ and waiting for the white cloud to billow before making a run for it. Kirito and the ALO crew run after them, with Amy lagging behind them due to the weight of her flamethrower.

"Come on firebug! Move your ass!" Aria yells, firing short five round bursts at movement on the edge of the smoke cloud, the M2 thundering right next to Nguyen's head. All the while, the .30 caliber coaxial machine gun starts laying down more covering fire for Amy.

"Lou! Fucking shoot!" Aria yells as the M2 runs out of ammo. The bow machine gun roars to life as well. She grabs the empty ammo can and flings it out of the way onto the street, grabbing another from the engine deck and hefting it into the holder and opening the feed tray. "Reloading!"

Nguyen and Aria become so focused on the fight they don't notice the friendly Fallschirmjager squad run up behind them until two MG-34's open up from prone positions on the sides of the road, firing into the smoke as more Fallschirmjager line up on the road in front of the reversing Sherman, firing at the shapes in the dissipating smoke.

"Sorry we're late! You guys head on back to the beachhead, the 10th Mountain's are waiting for you there!" The Lieutenant yells up at Aria and Nguyen, giving the prior a salute before continuing to command his troops, his MP40 hanging by its sling on his shoulder.

Aria slows down reloading the M2, slamming the feed cover down before relaxing slightly, sitting on the turret roof, watching a pair of Panzer II Luchs wait for the Sherman to get out of the road so they can advance. Once the Medium is out of the way, the two reconnaissance tanks accelerate down the road, in a hurry to help the Fallschirmjager. After turning a street corner, _La Montréalaise_ loads up the ALO players on its engine deck before heading to the beach.

 **Xx-xX**

"Woah…" Klein mutters as he looks out over the beach. Already four more LST's have landed, and their vehicles offloaded onto the beach. Infantry file out of two of the large ships, with jeeps and trucks out of another. Troops find their units and rally up near the seawall while the tanks roll up off the sand onto the cobblestone roads, accompanied by infantry walking alongside or riding on top.

Aria jogs down onto the beach and ducks into a medical halftrack for a moment before coming back out, fully healed. She waves at a group of roughly thirty US-garbed players, and they all jog over while the rest of the ALO crew gawks at the view before them. Battleships sit only a couple miles offshore with their guns aimed at the island, and cruisers fill in the gaps between the battleships while a small group of boats race parallel to the shore. Large balloons float above the LST's on shore, while anti-aircraft guns aboard the large ships scan the skies vigilantly and more anti-aircraft guns are being set up on the beachhead.

"No kidding." Agil mutters while Nguyen and Rift set out with their crews to restock on what ammunition they used during the ambush.

"Hey, any y'all need ammo?" A player in US gear asks as he and his group walks past, offering a satchel with a bandolier hanging out of it. "If you need any, take it. I don't need the extra weight. Pass it around."

Kirito reaches out and takes the satchel, nodding in thanks to the player as someone in the group of players starts to sing, starting the song out slowly.

" _Come along get you ready wear your bran', bran' new gown._

 _For there's gonna be a meeting, in that good, good old town._

 _Where you know everybody, and they all know you._

 _And you've got a rabbit's foot, to keep away the hoo-doo."_

By now the entire company is singing as they march past, speeding up to a slightly slowed-down ragtime tune.

" _When you hear that the preaching does begin!  
Bend down low for to drive away your sin!  
And when you get religion, you want to shout and sing!  
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight! My baby,_

 _When you hear, them a bells go ding-a-ling!_

 _All join 'round, and sweetly you must sing!_

 _And when the verse is through, in the chorus all join in!_

 _There'll be a hot time! In the old town! Tonight!"_

The singing of the group fades out as they get further away, and Aria saunters over to the ALO players, bouncing on her feet and humming the song with a map in her hand and a smile on her face, sitting on the seawall. Their singing having a rather soothing effect on the group's frazzled nerves.

"The 89th is almost always singing while they march; Bunch of historians and music enthusiasts in that unit. Anyways, gather 'round everyone! We've got our game plan!"

The ALO crew gathers around while she lays the map in her lap, and once nearly everyone can see it she pulls a pencil from her breast pocket, using it to point at spots on the map. "We're here in Palermo, accompanied by a company from the 10th Mountain division. Our objective, as decided by the NPC commander, is Belmonte Mezzagno, a town to our south-east in the high ground. It's confirmed that there is a large monster garrison there, so be careful once we get inside the town. There's a small NPC infantry garrison there as well, most likely Italian infantry, with attached tankettes and definitely some anti-tank guns. It's going to be a bloody tough fight, but once Stonewall gets here with another tank I'm confident we'll have enough firepower and numbers to blast through anything that gets in our way. Any questions?"

"Are we going to be fighting all the way there?" Leafa asks.

"Not all the way, but past Ciaculli is enemy territory. We would be there already if it hadn't been for that ambush."

Nguyen sighs from the back of the group, having resupplied. His crew had also made their way over and drop on the ground, resting.

"Well, the dev diaries were right about Italy being a bigger pain in the ass," he groans, "They just had to get one of our heavy tanks."

"Target of opportunity." Aria replies as she folds up the map. "Stonewall's getting another Super Pershing as we speak, but he can't teleport for another five minutes."

"I suggest we take a few minutes to catch our breath," Nguyen proposes as he sits down, legs outstretched.

"Good idea Nguyen," Kirito says as he lays down, "Gotta admit we got lucky though. We haven't lost anyone besides Stonewall."

"Yeah, you guys did good back there," Nguyen compliments, "Pretty happy we picked you up back in Antwerp eh."

"You didn't do too bad either Nguyen," Asuna adds as she lays down besides Kirito.

"Thanks!"

"Hey y'all! Sorry I'm late!" A commander of a M19 yells as it parks behind Rift's Centurion.

"Looks like reinforcements are here," Nguyen mutters as he dusts himself off and gets up, "I was starting to get comfy too."

"You aren't just late! You missed the fight already, when we could've actually bloody used you!" Aria yells back.

"Excuse the hell outta me! I was busy!"

Aria grumbles quietly and ignores the commander as he voices his excuse, rolling her eyes and relaxing on the seawall until another up-armored M26E4 rolls up off the beach. Stonewall climbs out as the engine shuts off, and takes his time lighting a cigarette before making his way over, looking somewhat irritated.

"This campaign better pay up well, because I just completely raped my wallet getting an upgraded radio and all that nice shit."

"Bro, you didn't have to shoot yourself eh?" Nguyen says, rather irritated, "We'd gotten to you in time you know?"

"Uh, news flash in case you've forgotten. I play hardcore mode. Flames, shrapnel, and all that shit that you hardly ever deal with? All that shit _hurts_."

"Oh right, forgot about that," the Canadian replies sheepishly, "Anyhow, happy to see you amongst us again."

"Thanks. Glad to be back. We ready to rumble?"

Kirito looks at the other ALO players before nodding.

"We got a quick ammo refill. Everyone's health is at 100%. We should be able to head out."

Nguyen shakes his head as he takes a quick glance at _La Montréalaise_.

"After that FUBAR'ed radio of yours, I think I should inspect my tank one last time," he reports, "If the rest of Italy is like this, I don't want any bad surprises like _that_."

"Make it quick. We're already behind schedule." Stonewall orders, taking command again, "Everyone else, mount up. We've got Baker Two coming with us."

"Think you can give us a hand man?" the Canadian asks, "An extra pair of hands can help make things faster."

Liz's perks up at this.

"If you want, I can give you guys a hand," she proposes with an excited smile, "I got some tank maintenance-related skills and I haven't used them in a while."

Nguyen nods and gives her a thumbs up.

"Right, follow me then!"

 **Xx-xX**

"Thanks again Liz!" Nguyen exclaims with a grin as the engineer hops off the engine deck. She flashes a smile.

"It was fun," she says, "If you ever need a hand-"

"I'll know who to ask!" he answers back as he gets into his tank. The rest of his crew do the same. Running through the start-up procedure, _La Montrealaise_ hums to life.

"Load up!" Stonewall yells from atop his new Super Pershing, also named _Warbreaker_. "Let's make 'em holler!"

 _{Baker Two to Baker One-Actual. Comms check, over.}_

"Baker Two, I've gotcha loud and clear." Stonewall replies. "Baker One elements, sound off for comms check."

As the tanks go through their radio checks, the ALO players mount up on _Warbreaker_ and _Miss Moody_ , Rift's Centurion having gotten a name during the brief R&R. Players from the Mountain troops also climb onto the heavier vehicles, and mingle in with the less experienced players.

"Baker One-Two, you're up front. I just sent you the route." Stonewall says with a wicked grin.

 _{Baker One-Two to Baker One-Actual. Quoi? You kidding me?}_

"Thaaaat's a negative One-Two. It's your turn to take point. So unless you can bribe one of Baker Two's boys, I recommend you get your ass in front."

 _{Baker One-Two to Baker One-Actual. Ok-}_

 _{Baker One-Two this is Baker Two-One, don't worry about it. Baker Two-Three already volunteered to take lead.}_

A M4A3(75) with a bulldozer blade rumbles past and slows to a halt in front of Rift's Centurion, with Scott and some of his troops riding on it. Stonewall grunts and clicks on his handset again.

"One-Three, you're behind Two-Three. Baker, let's roll out."

 _{Two-Three on the move.}_

One by one the tanks start forward and rumble through the narrow Italian streets until they break out into lush open farmland. Rift sits on the turret roof of his tank with his legs hanging into his hatch and chats casually with some of the players riding on his tank, while also keeping an eye on his surroundings. Stonewall is sitting in a similar fashion, with Aria relaxing half out of the hatch.

"Hey Stonewall, I've got a question." Klein says from the engine deck, leaning against the back of the turret.

"'Sup?" The American replies, looking back at him.

"You think I'd have a chance with Amy?"

Stonewall looks wide-eyed at him for a moment, then chuckles and looks up at the sky. "Possibly, I mean, you don't know unless you try."

"How can I impress her?"

"Flamethrower. You work with her, keep her covered, and you get good at using a flamethrower? She'll be impressed. Once we get a solid beachhead secured they'll bring in a supply depot. I'll help you get set up. She _needs_ somebody to work alongside."

"Eh? Why do you say that?"

"Well… ever since she lost her sister she's been a solo player. The only time she really interacts with other players is in combat."

"Lost her… oh"

Realization dawned on Klein. Amy's sister was another victim of Kayaba's madness.

Memories came trickling back to him of that bar on floor 19, the pair of female samurai who always sat in the same booth in the corner, their helmets on the seat beside them while they chatted.

Then randomly one day there was just one samurai, sitting in a booth on the complete opposite end of the bar with her helmet on the table. It was so blatantly obvious, and yet none of them picked up on it.

"Yeah. When the game finally ended and she got out, she was different. Wouldn't touch VR with a ten foot pole, hardly ever laughed anymore, and she said she didn't want to go to Japan anymore. Then I got hired for War-Torn and told her about the game. She practically jumped at the chance to get the dev build."

"What changed?"

Stonewall merely shakes his head and shrugs, looking at the road behind them and watching as five Type 97 Chi-Ha's pass them.

"Awe those tanks are kinda cute! What nation are they from?" Asuna asks Rift, causing the stocky tank commander to turn around.

"Oh, those are Japanese tanks. There's a Japanese unit as part of the advance force."

"Are those tanks any good?"

"Depends on your standards." Rift replies with a shrug. "Compared to what we have in Baker, everything we have outclasses them in terms of armor and weaponry, but those are smaller, and it's debatable if they're better for infantry support. On the other hand though, those tanks are smaller, so they're more cramped, and it's kinda limited who can fit inside."

Asuna nods in understanding as the Chi-Ha's disappear from sight, and two long lines of infantry on either side of the road slowly emerged from the fading dust cloud. On the right side, Commonwealth troops. On the left, US troops.

"Oh, here's the 89th again!" Aria exclaims excitedly before noticing the shoulder patch on the Commonwealth troops, "Oh my God it's the 2/13th!"

"There's your people darlin'." Stonewall chuckles.

 _{Baker-One-Two here, the 89th's always a blast to be around eh?}_

"No kidding One-Two."

 _{Yup, anything unusual on your side?}_

"Negative, nothing. Keep on the lookout though." Stonewall replies as the sound of the two infantry groups singing gets progressively louder.

" _They were only playing leapfrog!_

 _They were only playing leapfrog!_

 _They were only playing leapfrog!_

 _When one staff officer jumped right over the other staff officers' backs!"_

One by one those in the tank column that knew the relatively easy lyrics began singing along, grinning and sitting up from their relaxed positions. The ALO players look around in awe as the tense-looking group start singing louder than those walking. Not to be outdone, those walking start singing louder, grinning and continuing their march with more enthusiasm.

" _They were only playing leapfrog!_

 _They were only playing leapfrog!_

 _They were only playing leapfrog!_

 _When one staff officer jumped right over the other staff officers' backs!"_

As everyone starts the song back over, Sinon looks at Stonewall and yells over the singing.

"Why do they sing when they march?!"

"Lots of reasons! Morale and to keep time mostly!"

 _{Baker-One-Two here, think I can start singing over the comms-ack-fuck you tabarnak!}_

The sound of a braking tank can be heard coming from where _'La Montréalaise'_ , followed by all the other tanks, accompanied by a chorus of cursing from the embarked infantry. Dick and Lou have their heads turned towards Nguyen.

 _{One-Two, fuck no!}_ Stonewall snaps over the radio, followed by a long chorus of "No's" on the comms. _{You tell your fucking driver that if he slams on the brakes while we're in column again I'm gonna kick his ass!}_

 _{Roger that!}_

 _{Now get your asses moving again! We've got shit to do!}_

' _La Montréalaise'_ starts moving again after a few moments.

"What just happened?" Asuna asks, a look of annoyance on her face.

"Just Dick being… well, a dick. He slammed on the brakes to shut Nguyen up. Pissed Stonewall off in the process." Rift replies with a sigh before turning his attention to the road ahead.

"Fucking asshole." Stonewall growls in irritation, sticking a cigarette in his lips and opening his inventory for a lighter. ". . . . Ah shit. Hey Klein, spot me a light?"

"Sure man!" The Fallschirmjager replies as he produces a lighter, "Here you go."

"Cheers mate." Stonewall mutters before passing the lighter back, "Boils my blood when stupid shit like that happens."

"Those guys look like a bunch of goofballs," Klein remarks as he lights up a cigarette of his own. Kirito chuckles along with Leafa.

"They're pretty funny but I think they got a few tricks up their sleeves," Kirito remarks, "Nguyen didn't panic at Palermo."

"Consider me surprised. Wait until the next battle, I'll bet- ah fuck."

His radio comes to life.

 _{Baker One-Actual, this is Charlie One-Actual. Be advised, we require assistance to hold our location. Think you can send a couple tanks our way?}_

Stonewall grabs a map and pans over it, muttering under his breath before giving a sigh and clicking the switch on his handset. "Charlie One-Actual, that's affirmative. How many do you need?"

 _{One or two at most. Charlie's vehicle strength is currently one times Chaffee and one times Pershing.}_

Stonewall looks at the column and growls in irritation. "Copy that, stand-by."

"What's up Stonewall?" Kirito asks.

"SNAFU." The commander sighs. "All Baker elements, convoy halt."

At the lead of the column, the Sherman slows to a halt, followed by Rift's Centurion, and so on down the line.

 _{One-One, One-Three. What's going on?}_

"One-Three I'm giving you operational command of our current objective. Baker One-Actual and One-Two are going to reinforce Charlie One-Actual while the rest of the infantry mounts up on Baker Two." Stonewall replies before looking back at everyone on the engine deck. "Everyone off! Mount up on the Firefly's."

"You heard him! Off!" One of the Mountain Troops yells, followed by all the experienced players quickly jumping off and moving to the three Sherman Firefly's behind the M19.

"We'll meet up with you guys up in Belmonte Mezzagno!" Stonewall yells.

Kirito gives him a thumbs up.

"See you there and good luck!"

Once everyone is off the Super Pershing Stonewall orders his driver out of the column and waits for ' _La Montréalaise'_ to get moving. The two tanks accelerate down the road, leaving the column in their dust while the disembarked infantry mount back up on the other tanks.

"So what exactly happened?" Kirito asks Rift.

"Charlie got their asses kicked trying to get off the beach. They had three Pershing's, four Shermans, and a Chaffee, but they're down to just a Pershing and a Chaffee." Rift responds as the column gets moving again.

"Sounds like Italy is harder than Belgium," Leafa remarks, "Did they really do an event so people would come here?"

"No kidding," Kirito adds, "We ran into an ambush and, from the looks of it, those other guys got beaten badly too."

"The event is to promote an invasion. There's groups from other theaters that wanted another hard area that wasn't jungle or winter. So they opened up Italy for invasion. The South Pacific is harder than this."

"How come?" Sinon says while scanning the horizon with her binoculars.

"Shorter sight lines. A 'home field' buff for defenders. NPC infantry will sometimes surrender in other areas, but the defenders in the South Pacific are fanatical. I was in Burma before I came here." Amy says quietly, barely being heard over the sound of the engine. "Lots of monsters with poison attacks and stuff like that too."

"Sounds… lovely," Klein remarks sarcastically before changing his tone to a friendlier one, "The rewards must be good though."

"It's not bad. Not many players like to fight there because stuff wears out faster. Usually you've gotta call on air support more often. Pilots love it there." Amy hums lightly, not looking at any of them.

"I'd really like to try and fly a plane in this world," Leafa remarks, looking wistfully at the sky, "I heard it's expensive though."

"It can get pretty spendy yeah. I can call in a favor if you want to try it, but be warned it's completely accurate." Rift says as he lowers himself into his hatch. "Especially with Malta captured. You might be able to help us in the air once they get the airfield fixed."

" _If_ they get the airfield fixed." Amy scoffs. "Pact has been bombing the hell out of Malta ever since the Alliance captured it. Day in, day out."

"I can understand why," Sinon says, "When we attacked that airfield, Pact didn't hesitate to bomb it when we almost took it."

"In Burma we took an airfield a couple weeks ago. Found out the hard way that the Pact players had buried five hundred pound bombs along the length of the runway." Amy grumbles.

"Airfields were important back then," Sinon continues, "I can understand why they'd be important in this game. Anyhow, things look pretty quiet so far, but I still have a bad feeling about this place."

"You should. They know we're coming." Rift responds, scanning the mountains to their right with a pair of binoculars. "Especially right now."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Leafa asks, raising her Garand in alarm.

"There's a scouting party on the ridge." Rift calmly reports before ducking into the turret and changing the channel on his radio. Sinon turns her head, taking a look at the ridge with her binoculars prior to nodding to confirm Rift's discovery. "Texas, this is Baker One-Three. Interrogative, are you available for fire missions currently?"

 _{This is Texas. Affirmative Baker One-Three. What do you have for us?}_

"Texas, requesting fire mission. Hostile observation post, grid reference follows."

 _{Send grid reference.}_

Rift double-checks his map and relays the jumble of letters to the battleship offshore, slowing the column momentarily so the ALO players can "watch the fireworks", and so he can confirm the effect of the main gun salvo.

"Here it comes…"

The loud howling overhead of the ship's 14 inch shells signifies an end to the group of infantry on the ridge. Seconds later the ridgeline seems to erupt, dirt and rock flying skyward for a moment before falling back down to earth, the spot where it initially rested now a cratered saddle in the ridge.

"Jesus!" Rift chuckles before getting on the radio as the mountaineers on the Firefly's start cheering. "Texas this is Baker One-Three. Good effect on target, target destroyed. End fire mission. How copy?"

 _{Good copy Baker One-Three. Texas remaining on-call for Naval fire support, channel nine. Texas out.}_

"Amazing," Kirito mutters, wide-eyed, "The devs really outdid themselves with this."

"Man… wouldn't want be the suckers on the receiving end," Agil remarks. Everyone nods save for Sinon who had kept her binoculars pointed at the observation post.

"The battleship took out five players," she reports, lowering her binoculars, "Though I think they managed to get a message out first."

Klein quickly glances at Silica and Pina.

"You two picked anything up?" he asks urgently, "There might be an ambush."

The younger player shakes her head.

"Pina can't sense anything but the tank's smells are blurring things up."

"That's ok Silica," Asuna reassures, "If they wanted to ambush us, we'd already be in trouble."

"If y'all think that's impressive, one of the devs is out there with Musashi. I'll call on them if we need another fire mission." Rift says with a massive grin.

"Musashi?!" Sinon exclaims, "As in the biggest warship the IJN had during World War 2?"

"And as in one of the largest battleships ever constructed with the largest guns ever put on a ship? Yes."

"Now that I gotta see." Liz declares with a grin as the tank column began picking up speed.

"That can be arranged." Rift chuckles. "Eyes up everyone, we're almost at Ciaculli."

In the distance the bunch of half-destroyed buildings that had been slowly getting closer were only a mere thousand yards away. Smoke slowly rose from destroyed trucks, and as they drew closer they pass several burning tankettes in the ditch, their ammo popping occasionally from the heat inside the small vehicles. Ahead, half a dozen players have NPC soldiers lined up against a wall, standing guard with an AC IIIA Thunderbolt parked nearby. Rift gives them a salute as they drive by, and holds a Sten in his hands while they rumble through the town.

"Was this town difficult to take?" Kirito comments, looking at a medic patching up another player.

"Well, they caught them by surprise. All those vehicles that were disabled were probably on their way through town to reinforce Palermo. It certainly wasn't easy, but I don't think it was too difficult either." Rift explains.

"I think that having the big guns on those ships also helps," Klein adds, "They probably flattened half the enemy force by themselves."

"Yeah, you oughta see Bagheria, further to the east. Two players just took their battlecruisers and flattened the entire city."

"Well at least they won't be causing trouble I guess?" Liz says, shrugging.

"That's one way to think of it." Rift chuckles before yelling down into his hatch. "Andrew! Load AP, make ready for a fight!"

"What's going on?" Kirito asks, readying his M2 carbine, "You heard something on the radio?"

"Just getting ready is all. It's hostile territory beyond here."

"Good idea, we don't want to get caught unprepared," Kirito answers back before turning to the other ALO players, "Everyone, keep an eye out. We don't want to end up like Stonewall did in Palermo."

His friends all nod in response.

"Let's see here…. Assigned to our assistance is… okay." Rift mutters to himself before speaking into the radio. "Boise this is Baker One-Three, commence fire on suppression target Able."

 _{Boise confirms. Engaging target.}_

Rift looks back at everyone and smiles. "We've got targets singled out for barrage to cover our approach to Belmonte! Enjoy the fireworks!"

 _{Baker One-Three, Boise. Shot, over.}_

 **How evil of us to end it like this eh? Hope you enjoyed reading this. Here's more screentime for the ALO crew. Anyone spot the** _ **Pearl Harbor**_ **reference? -Goodalwayswins98**

 **Stick around y'all, because it's about to go down! - SirStonewall**

 **First song is 'hot time in the old town tonight'**

 **Second song is 'they were only playing leapfrog'**


	8. Belmonte Bruisers

**Chapter 8: Belmonte Bruisers**

 **Thanks for the reviews, especially you K2-Black-Panther. We know that the TT-33 and Type-54 Black Star aren't the same pistol but they're so very similar that it would probably cause Sinon to freak out upon seeing it.** **But yeah, the ALO gang would probably be really cool people to be around IRL.**

 **We're avoiding the death game scenario since it's been already used by many fanfic authors here and even the original premise stopped using it to change to other scenarios.**

 **Anyhow, enjoy reading this and tell us what you guys and gals think! Hope you have as much fun reading as we did writing it.**

 **\- Goodalwayswins98**

 **FinnTheHumanMC. LOL no. Not happening. We've already got long-term plans that don't involve everyone getting trapped in another death game. Sorry/not sorry. - SirStonewall.**

 _{Anson copies. Engaging suppression target Dog.}_

"Almost there. Stay vigilant!" Rift says to Kirito and crew as the column rumbles and rattles up the valley.

"Why do we want this town specifically anyways?" Liz asks, hearing and watching the 14-inch shells from HMS _Anson_ land amongst a cluster of buildings, sending debris and dirt flying as well as a few unfortunate players.

"We need to secure a foothold in the high ground before Pact can fortify." Amy responds, the nozzle for her flamethrower in her lap.

Before Liz can respond, the radio quickly snaps to life, with Stonewall's urgent voice broadcasting loud and clear.

 _{Texas this is Baker One-Actual. Requesting fire mission!}_

 _{This is Texas, send your traffic.}_

 _{Texas I need immediate fire support at grid reference one-five-eight-two, two-six-seven-seven! Target is infantry and armor in the open! How copy?!}_

 _{Baker One-Actual, we'll need to reposition to fire on those coordinates, you'll have to wait ten.}_

 _{Well then fuckin' disregard! To all naval support, is there any vessel that can fire on those coordinates?!}_

"Sounds like Stonewall's in some deep shit." Rift sighs.

"How can you tell?" Kirito asks.

"If he's cussing on the radio, either he's pissed off or he's up to his neck in trouble."

 _{This is Guam, we can fire on those coordinates immediately.}_

 _{Well then fucking send it! Three salvos, high-explosive!}_

 _{Copy that. Three salvos, one-five-eight-two, two-six-seven-seven. Request BDA on first salvo. Guam firing.}_

As Rift focuses on listening to the radio, the column continues around a bend in the road, only for the lead Sherman to suddenly lurch, and rumble to a halt, the commander slowly pulling himself out of the hatch in a daze.

"Ambush! Get the fuck off the tank!" Amy shouts, jumping off the engine deck and into the ditch seconds before a burst of machine-gun fire pings off the side of the Centurion's turret, sending everyone scrambling for cover.

"Contact front right!" Rift yells, grabbing the override handle for the turret control and slewing the gun onto a cloud of dust in the hills. "Anti-tank gun!"

"Somebody cover me! There's a pillbox on our right!" Amy yells.

"I'll cover you!" Klein yells back, ducking down in the ditch next to the flamethrower operator as another burst from the machine-gun kicks up dirt around them.

"Okay! Put fire on that pillbox! Three! Two! One!"

Amy jumps up as Klein straightens up and fires at the pillbox halfway up the hill, sprinting forward through the scrub brush and diving behind a cluster of rocks as Klein's FG42 runs out of ammo. The machine-gun in the pillbox renews its fire with a new vigor, spraying the ditch that Klein and most of the ALO crew reside in.

Behind them, _Miss Moody_ has slowed to a halt, Rift's gunner and the M19 having dispatched the AT gun. The Centurion's turret swivels back and forth with the coaxial machine-gun firing while Rift's gunner pins down infantry in a slit trench on the hill, giving cover for Amy.

Behind the M19 that begins to pound the trenches on either side of the bunker, the mountaineers all start laying down cover fire for the flamethrower operator as the three Firefly's begin pounding the pillbox with 17 pdr AP shells, progressively chipping away at the thick concrete above or below the firing slit, unable to score a direct hit on the only vulnerability.

"Move up with the flamethrower! We'll cover you!" Scott announces as he runs up and dives into the ditch with Kirito.

As all the ALO players get ready to jump up, Scott grabs Asuna's arm and points towards the disabled Sherman. "They need a medic!"

"Right!" the medic answers as she dashes forward, "Cover me everyone! Come with me Kirito!" Everyone nods before leaping out of the ditch. Agil holds his weapon at the hip and unleashes a burst from his MG42 while Leafa, Silica, and Liz quickly get behind some cover and begin shooting players. Bullets whiz and crack over their heads, hitting the dirt around _Miss Moody_ and harmlessly bouncing off the armor of the tank _._ Sinon hits the ground and carefully lines up her shot at the pillbox' slit, aiming for the machine gunner. Taking a deep breath, she squeezes the trigger once, hitting the player and sending his helmet flying off. The machine gunner's assistant barely registers his friend's death before he too falls to the ground.

Kirito and Asuna, who had to run from cover to cover, seize this opportunity to make a break for the lead Sherman. Bullets still zip and crack around them but they safely make it to the damaged tank. The duo climb up the engine deck and reach the injured tank commander.

"Help me," the tank commander groans, holding his leg while red pixels rise off of him. Asuna pulls the injured player off the engine deck and onto the ground to the left side of the Sherman while Kirito provides covering fire.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out soon," Asuna says soothingly, "Is the rest of your crew still inside of your tank?"

"Driver and assistant driver are respawning. Not sure about the gunner and loader," he croaks as Asuna heals his leg.

"Right! I'm gonna go get them out!" Kirito replies before he dashes back up the side of the tank. As he reaches the turret, he peers into the opened hatch, quickly glancing around for any sign of the other crew members. The inside of the tank is a mess with twisted metal around the interior and scorch marks on the white paint. Kirito spots the gunner who is slumped over his controls, his head lying against his telescopic scope. Glancing over the loader's side, the position is empty, with a 75mm round laying on the turret floor.

As he starts pulling the Gunner out of the tank, Amy jumps up and sprints up the hill with Klein close behind her as _Squirrel_ and the other two Firefly's fire their coax guns into the firing slit of the pillbox.

"C'mon! Move it!" Amy yells back at Klein while he struggles up the hill.

"Doing my best here!" He snaps in response, catching himself when he stumbles.

"You need to work on your AGI!"

A bullet barely misses Amy's head and flamethrower tank, causing Klein to shout back. "And you need to keep an eye on what's happening ahead! I can handle myself just fine!"

"Worry about me a little less and you might be able to keep up!" The flamethrower operator yells back, running up to the pillbox until she's only roughly fifty feet away. Standing upright she points the nozzle of her flamethrower at the firing slit and unleashes a rolling ball of flame into the aperture, ignoring the screams and yelling coming from inside as she moves to one side and sends another ball of flame into the trench on the right side of the pillbox. At the same time, Klein fires a few rounds at the firing slit to put some of the burning players or NPC's out of their misery. Those who try to escape death by incineration by climbing out of the trench are nearly instantly cut down by the mountaineers, and Amy jumps down into the trench once it's clear, rolling more flame down the narrow passage to the rear of the pillbox.

"Oh my God…." Klein mutters, watching the remaining NPC's in the trench clamber out and run away from the flamethrower operator, only for the tanks or mountaineers to cut them down. As the ALO crew catch up with him, the mountaineers jump into the trench and fan out along it, starting to mop up any resistance while Amy relaxes by the burned-out pillbox.

"Well?" Amy asks, looking towards him. "You gonna clear the pillbox?"

"Eh… do I really need to? I mean, you already burned it out."

"There's more to this type than what's above ground. There's tunnels leading to probably another pillbox."

"Oh…" Klein mutters as Liz and Leafa run up, the prior giddy at seeing the flamethrower so expertly used.

"That was AWESOME!"

"Ah it was nothin'. Just another pillbox." Amy responds with a nonchalant shrug. "You got a TNT block on you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"This pillbox needs clearing, but first that door needs opening."

"I'm on it!" Liz says happily, jumping down into the trench and moving to the door with a block of TNT and a ten second fuse in hand. Amy gets up and walks out to where Rift can see her, waving at him with her left arm and giving him a thumbs-up.

Seconds later as she turns to walk back towards the pillbox, a single shot rings out, and the flamethrower operator is promptly engulfed in a gigantic fireball as her tank of napalm is ruptured, sending everyone nearby scrambling for cover.

"Amy!" Klein shouts, shock written across his face as he recovers from the blast.

"Sniper, ridgeline, four o'clock!" Rift tells his gunner, seconds before the crouched figure is sent flying by a pair of explosions.

 _{One-Three, this is Two-One. Scratch one sniper.}_

"Good shooting Two-One and Two-Two." Rift sighs before going back to monitoring the support channel.

 _{Guam, Baker One-Actual, that salvo was fuckin' beautiful! I need you to bring those guns roughly two hundred yards further to the west!}_

 _{Baker One-Actual, copy that. Interrogative, what is your location?}_

 _{Guam, One-Actual. Don't worry about my location, just send the fucking salvo!}_

 _{Guam copies. Nine rounds, on the way.}_

"Yo! Earth to Rift!" Scott yells, pulling the commander's attention from the radio.

"Huh?"

"We need you to move up as advance force while we load back up!"

"You got it!"

As _Miss Moody_ rumbles around the knocked-out Sherman, Asuna and Kirito finish treating the wounded tankers, just in time to hear and feel a blast uphill.

"Doc!" Scott yells, grabbing Asuna's arm. "They need you up at the pillbox! We'll take care of these guys!"

"Right!" She chirps, jumping up and running out from cover with Kirito close behind. As they run up the hill, they note the patch of burning ground and brush, along with the multitude of injured players lined up along the trench, awaiting treatment from her and two medics belonging to the mountaineers.

Seconds after Asuna jumps into the trench and starts healing players, a dozen able-bodied players quickly file into the trench from the direction of the pillbox, followed by Liz yelling. Kirito stands watch while the medics heal the injured players.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

A blast thunders out, followed by a cloud of dust that rushes up the trench, and one of the mountaineers jumps up.

"GO!"

His shout is met by a defiant roar from the bunker as the point man is flung against the trench wall opposite from the bunker door.

"GREENSKINS!"

Several shots ring out before one of the GI's is flung down the length of the trench, landing in a heap near Asuna. He groans before yelling out for a medic. The sound of automatic fire rips through the haze caused by the explosion, and another GI is flung overhead, cartwheeling down nearly the entire length of the trench before disappearing in a cloud of pixels.

"Oh crap! Orc!" Liz yells, scrambling away from the steel-clad orc as it swings what appears to be a piece of hedgehog tank trap. Its ugly green face suddenly explodes in a gush of pixels as it collapses backwards before disappearing.

"Get in there! Let's go people!" A mountaineer with a radio yells, giving a respectful nod of thanks to Sinon who nods back.

"Good shot Sinonon!" Asuna shouts as she finishes patching up another player.

"No problem, I'll keep you covered!" the sniper yells back.

"Once you're done patching up our guys Seth wants y'all to load up." The radio operator informs Kirito, motioning towards the Firefly's on the road.

"Roger that!" he replies before he runs down the trench, looking for the rest of his ALO friends. Asuna, meanwhile remains behind in case if more wounded return.

"Klein!" Kirito yells, looking around for the ex-samurai as he runs down the trench, "Agil! Liz!"

"Here!" Liz yells back, walking out of the bunker with Klein and Leafa behind her. "What's up?"

"They need our help somewhere else." he answers, "We're getting another tank ride to get there." Looking around, Kirito notices that Agil and Silica aren't there, "Where's Agil and Silica?"

"I think they're at the tanks making sure they don't get snuck up on." Liz answers.

"Smart. Start making your way down there, we'll catch up." Kirito replies as an artillery shell lands in the background. All the ALO players nearby duck, eliciting a laugh from most of the mountaineers as they go about looting containers inside the trench.

While Liz, Leafa, and Klein all jog down to the road, Kirito makes his way back towards Asuna, watching Sinon jump over the trench and walk downhill towards the tanks. The medic swiftly packs up when another pair of medics arrive to replace her, and the couple quickly make their way to their waiting friends and tanks.

"Anyone need healing?" the medic asks quickly, glancing at everyone's health bar.

"No we're all fine over here," Agil reports, "Where's Amy?"

"Torched. Her flamethrower tanks exploded." Scott sighs. "Again."

Silica and Asuna shudder at this. Amy probably didn't stand a chance to even get healed. Sinon, on the other hand, shakes her head in annoyance while muttering something about not being fast enough.

As the ALO crew and Scott's recon team mount up on the rear of the Fireflies, Kirito realizes something.

"Anyone got news from Nguyen and Stonewall?" he asks the commander of his tank.

"Stonewall's been on the radio directing offshore fire support, so he's okay. We heard Nguyen bitching and moaning on the radio before it cut out, so fair chance they got killed." The lead Firefly commander, a toned and sharp-featured guy with a black cowboy hat, says with a chuckle.

"Yo can you let me out of this tin can?! My fucking neck hurts-" a crewman inside is quickly kicked by the commander before he yells back down into the hatch.

"Oh shattap you're fine."

Kirito and Asuna look at the scene with a smile on their face as they help Leafa, Liz and Silica climb on the tank.

"It doesn't look so bad being inside a tank," Asuna comments innocently, "Stonewall and all the others do that all the time."

"Yeah but the others all have tanks with guns that were originally designed to be inside a tank. Name's Seth by the way." The cowboy replies as the tank starts forward, followed by the other two carrying Scott's group. "Take a look inside if you want."

The medic moves forward onto the turret before leaning inside the loader's hatch. Poking her head inside, Asuna barely misses hitting the loader's head as he dodges her. Taking a glance around she notices the loader's blackened face with a clean outline of where his goggles were. Inside the turret the spare room is very minimal due to the large gun breech in the middle. The gunner relaxes against the gun breach while rubbing his neck, noticing Asuna after a few seconds. "Uh…. 'sup?"

"Hello, I wanted to take a look," she replies sheepishly. The main thing that she notices is the loader's lack of eyebrows and soot covered face.

"Oh uh, well welcome aboard," he replies, "There's not a ton room in here so I can't really show you around."

"Do you mind coming back later though?" the loader says, "We might get into a shitstorm soon…"

Asuna nods in understanding and retreats to the engine deck, sitting with her back against the counterweight.

"So how was it?" Liz asks, sitting on the right side of the tank, "Was it like the other tanks?"

The medic shakes her head.

"It was a lot smaller than Stonewall and Nguyen's tanks," she answers, "Also Seth?"

"Yeah?"

Asuna has a rather nervous look on her face as she asks her next question. In the distance, sounds of battle echo over the mountains. Explosions sound like thunder rolling in the distance, and gunfire sounds akin to popcorn in the microwave as small firefights rage across the front line.

"It's a bit rude but why doesn't your loader's avatar have eyebrows?"

"Uh, well, the gun breech opens immediately on this tank after firing, so sometimes we get some flame that comes back into the turret."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Liz says in shock, "Couldn't your tank catch on fire?"

"You guys sure are brave to use a tank like that," Leafa adds while scanning the horizon as their tank climbs a rocky hillside road. The surrounding countryside looks relatively untouched by the war, allowing everyone a sort of tour of peaceful Sicily.

"It's not enough flame for the tank to catch fire, it's just a flash from unburnt powder. Once we get the improved gun breech it'll eliminate the flash burns."

"You guys probably use this tank because it's powerful even if it's that difficult to use, right?" Kirito comments.

Seth merely shrugs. "We use it because we like it. The other two tanks use it because we use it."

"Speak for yourself this tank fucking sucks-OW!" Seth's gunner complains before he kicks him. Kirito and his friends can't help but snicker at the crew's antics.

"I know what tank not to get," Liz mutters under her breath, mentally noting the burnt-off eyebrows as an inconvenient factor, "So what's the new plan anyways?"

"We're gonna halt at the hilltop and Rift's gonna call in some fire support before we head down into the town. Somethin' about one of y'all wanting to see Musashi in action."

Liz's eyes suddenly shine.

"Really?!"

Seth nods at her enthusiasm.

"Awesome!"

The Firefly commander grins.

"Lemme guess… that was you?"

The engineer nods enthusiastically as Seth chuckles. The tanks suddenly begin branching off the road when they arrive at the hilltop, and Rift's Centurion rattles to a halt at the edge as the commander emerges from the hatch with a handset in his hand.

"Hey guys! Who's ready for some fireworks?!"

"I am!" Liz shouts excitedly as she stands up on the back of the tank with Silica and Leafa grinning from ear to ear.

"Man can't wait to see those fireworks!" Klein exclaims as he gets in a more comfortable position on the tank where he can see the town.

"More over man!" Agil says while he switches place on the tank, "Can't let you have all the fun either."

"Sure grandpa!" Klein replies cheekily.

Rift snorts in amusement and raises his handset to speak. "Musashi, this is Baker One-Three, fire mission."

 _{One-Three, this is Musashi, send it.}_

Rift sends a series of coordinates over the net and is promptly answered by the Musashi.

"Look at that part of the town," he says, pointing at the eastern section of buildings.

After a minute of waiting, the sound of thundering guns echo in the distance. Many seconds later, loud whistling fills the ears of the players while Pina starts whining and covering her head. In the blink of an eye, the ground shakes as Belmonte Mezzagno is engulfed in massive explosions that rip apart city blocks and turn them to debris. Occasionally, pixel trails rise from the fireballs, but most are obscured by clouds of dust and flying debris. The players overlooking the city are all slack-jawed as they see the spectacle unfurl before them, feeling each blast in their chests.

"Amazing," Asuna whispers, "I can't believe that's in-game."

"Sucks to be those guys," Klein comments, looking through his binoculars.

"During early stages of development they were having trouble finding anything that compared, so they fought with BATFE for almost a year until they got the green light to go to an island off the coast of California and detonate an equivalent of two thousand pounds of explosives." Seth explains. "It was in the dev blogs."

"Talk about dedication," Kirito comments as another shell shatters the town's buildings while Liz and Klein holler in excitement. Sinon, meanwhile, calmly scrutinizes the town to see if any vantage points still remain while Leafa and Silica comfort Pina.

"Believe me, these guys love making their games."

"Are they making other VR games too?"

'Yes actually. They're developing a modern version of War-Torn named Hellbound. I'm gonna pre-order once it comes out." Seth answers with a grin.

"Sounds like fun," Kirito replies. For a few more moments, shells continue to rip apart the town of Belmonte Mezzagno before slowly ceasing. Smoke rises from the shattered buildings and small fires, while dust kicked up from the explosions hangs low on the air, obscuring the streets.

"Well, looks like it's showtime." Seth sighs, "You guys seem pretty chill. Hang out later?"

"Sure, you gotta any good places?" Asuna says cheerfully.

"I heard Paris was great this time of year. Perhaps we can all head there after this battle?" the Firefly commander suggests as the tanks begin grumbling back to life and slowly move towards the road.

"Paris?" Asuna says, "As in the City of Light?"

"Yeah, the devs used a crapton of archives from one of Nguyen's contacts to recreate Paris as it was in 1939," Seth explains, "Apparently, they really got it right, so it's almost like visiting the real thing."

"I think that could be a good place to go visit," she says happily "Don't you think Kirito?"

Her boyfriend nods in agreement as well as Liz, Silica and Leafa who are riding with them.

"Yeah, it would be a nice change of pace from all the battles we've been fighting in this world. We'll talk about it with the others when we can."

"Good idea!" Liz exclaims as the five vehicles carefully drive down the hillside road towards Belmonte Mezzagno, their commanders carefully scanning the town's outer perimeter. Thick smoke and almost choking dust from the bombardment blocks their view into the city. Even Pina has trouble picking anything up.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Kirito mutters as he readies his M2 Carbine. Asuna nods in response and racks the bolt on her Thompson.

"So far, it's pretty quiet," Seth comments, "What the-"

He's interrupted by a loud ear shattering roar as three massive silhouettes emerge from the smoke ahead.

"Are those trolls?!" Silica exclaims in shock.

"No way," Kirito mutters as he sees the monsters in front of him. The trolls carry massive shields made from reinforced grey Schurzen plates and wear German helmets, their torsos protected by thick plate armor and carrying large metal beams. To make matters worse, a pair of Tiger tanks and a group of infantrymen slowly emerge from the smoke and dust behind them.

"Crap, they weren't kidding when they said the monsters in Italy were bigger!" Klein yells as he begins firing at the armoured monstrosities. Meanwhile Leafa readies her rifle grenade while Liz and Silica cover her.

"AP, three hundred yards! Target tank!" Seth orders, seconds before Rift's Centurion services one of the Tigers. The turret is sent flying into the sky above the hull with a ball of flame as the ammunition explodes, landing on a trio of unfortunate infantrymen. Sinon leaps off Rift's Centurion before getting off the road and lying on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she aims for one of the trolls' eye, trying to get an opening to shoot. The massive shields and wild movements of the monster making the shot difficult. A split second opportunity, her finger pulls back the trigger and she feels the gun's recoil against her shoulder. The monstrous creature's roars suddenly stop, and it freezes for a moment before toppling backwards like a falling tower. Some players behind it manage to dodge its falling corpse… others not.

Sinon barely has the time to catch her breath that her instincts kick in and she rolls herself to the left, a bullet hitting where her head was barely a few moments ago.

"Another sniper," she whispers as she hides behind a rock, "Maybe this'll be a real challenge."

Peering out, Sinon scans some ruined building ahead of her for any unusual movement.

"Dammit, where is he?" she mutters, "This one seems to be a bit smarter."

At the same time, Leafa sends a rifle grenade at one the remaining trolls, aiming for its head. The grenade hits the monstrous creature on its shield arm, injuring it and causing it to drop its shield. Leafa barely has the time to celebrate before she's hit in the arm, sending her to the ground. Liz and Silica redouble their efforts as they unload more bullets towards the enemy.

'MEDIC!" she yells, clutching her arm.

"Get her to cover!" Klein yells as he reloads his FG42 after unleashing a burst at a troll alongside Agil.

"I'm on my way-" one of Scott's medics yells before falling to the ground and disappearing, causing Klein and Agil to swear.

"SNIPER!" Scott shouts in warning while he ducks behind Rift's Centurion, "Anyone see where he is?!"

"Is there a medic still around?" Liz exclaims as she made her way to Leafa through the gunfire and begins dragging her to safety behind some rocks.

"Shit!" Scott swears, "I think that sniper's targeting medics! I can't see any left! Sound off!"

"Daniels is up!"

The silence that ensues makes Scott yell a blue streak of words, having started with three medics.

Sinon hears this and grits her teeth.

"Ok, this guy's really good," she mutters as she begins scanning around the frontline, "Where are you?"

Suddenly she spots a silhouette darting between some of the ruined buildings. Raising her scope, Sinon notices the player's long blond hair and feminine traits as well as the same rifle. Seizing her chance, the brunette squeezes the trigger of her Enfield, kicking up a puff of dirt in the road that signifies a miss just as the enemy sniper gets into a building.

"Tch, lucky break." she mutters as she moves to another spot, keeping a vigilant watch on the building's windows.

At the same time, Asuna and Kirito duck inside a small ditch and run along its length.

"Wait a minute!" Kirito exclaims in realization and stops, "I've got an idea."

"What is it?" his girlfriend asks, catching her breath.

"I think we can take that sniper's attention away from you," he says while picking up a wooden stick, "Just pass me your helmet!"

Asuna's eyes light up in understanding as she unclips her medic's helmet and throws it to Kirito. Laying on the ground, he puts the helmet on the stick and pokes it above the ditch's edge.

"Come on Sinon, don't let us down now," he mutters through clenched teeth. The helmet suddenly goes flying while the stick splinters in small bits.

A few seconds prior, Sinon sees the female sniper leaning towards one of the windows before the flash of gunshot appears from the other sniper's rifle. A feral, cat-like grin appears on her face. For a brief second, Sinon spots the player's kit and realizes that the other player is dressed in the same gear as her. However, the brunette doesn't hesitate to pull her trigger, hoping she's fast enough. To her satisfaction, she sees a trail of pixels where the other sniper used to be as well as a notification that she has collected a bounty.

"It's all clear Asuna!" Sinon shouts from her cover. The medic nods and dashes over the road towards where Leafa is.

Suddenly, the semi-ruined building is steadily demolished by a steady stream of explosive shells.

"Hey I think I got the sniper!" the commander of the M19 yells over the sound of two 40mm Bofors cannons firing.

"Yeah right." Sinon snickers quietly while she moves to a new spot, kneeling down behind some rocks and scrub brush as Asuna manages to finally reach Leafa's position.

"Thank goodness you're here Asuna!" Leafa says, still holding her arm. Around them, Klein and Agil are firing from behind cover while Liz and Silica stand guard over the injured Leafa.

"Get as many of the wounded players over here!" Asuna orders as she unpacks her medkit, "I'll treat them here!"

"There's another medic coming over!" Scott reports.

"We'll heal everyone and we'll head into town," Kirito orders, "So get everyone who needs help over here."

"We'll cover you guys!" Agil yells back as he reloads his MG42. Liz and Silica nod in agreement, and promptly take up positions to put fire on the remaining defenders.

"Right!"

 _Squirrel_ fires off a shot that kills the last of the armoured trolls while Kirito and Klein help injured players reach the medics. The other players and tanks press their assault on the Pact positions while Asuna and the other medic's efforts help bring more allies into the fight as they heal them.

"We'll better take this town soon since I'm starting to run out of medical supplies," Asuna grimly reports after she finishes patching up the last player. Scott overhears her and kneels down beside her, the antenna of his radio sticking above his head.

"Go talk with the tankers," he says, "They might have some to spare."

The medic nods and turns her attention back to the player as Kirito helps another to his feet.

"Alright that's the last of them," Kirito remarks, "We should be able to push forward!"

"Let's go then!" Seth yells at them, "The longer we stay here the longer we give them to prepare!"

The Alliance players stand up and begin advancing towards their wavering opponents, some mounting bayonets to their rifles while others check ammunition. They advance from cover to cover, mutually supporting the tanks while the tanks get onto the roads and begin to enter the town. For the time being, only the occasional shot rings out, though many Alliance players catch sight of Pact players running through alleys and down the street away from them.

As _Squirrel_ enters the town, Seth waves Kirito and the ALO crew forward, his Grease Gun in his hands as he catches short glimpses of Pact players. The infantry players cautiously move up to walk alongside and ahead of the tank, unnerved by the relative silence.

"Something's not right here…" The Firefly commander mutters, scanning the second story windows of some of the buildings cautiously before yelling to Kirito. "Hey! Eyes up! This shit is fuckin' weird!"

"You think so too?" Kirito shouts back, "This is way too quiet… Everyone keep an eye out-"

Pina suddenly starts growling, her hackles raising up as she stares down the road. Silica suddenly pales.

"Pina says there's something really big that's coming our way." she says hurriedly as she clutches her M1 Carbine tighter, ready for anything.

Seth looks down the hazy street and raises his Grease Gun, noting at least six forms of the armored trolls, their shields raised in an attempt to protect them.

 _{Contact rear! More of those trolls!}_ Baker Two-Two reports.

"Come on! Are you kidding me?!" Klein groans, "More of those things!"

"FIRE!" Seth yells before the 17pdr of his Firefly roars, servicing the makeshift phalanx a high-explosive round. Meanwhile, Kirito and his group are firing off everything they have at the onrushing monsters.

"Our attacks aren't doing anything!" Liz shouts as she sees her bullets bounce off the armoured trolls, "Does anyone have one of those Panzerfaust things?!"

"Dammit! I wish I did!" Klein shouts back, "I'm getting one of those things as soon as I can!"

"It would have been useful to have one now, you idiot!" Liz retorts as the monsters march closer and closer.

Seth climbs out of his hatch and onto the engine deck, racking the charging handle on the .50 caliber just as his gunner services the phalanx again, stumbling some of the trolls, allowing him to tear into their body armor with the heavy machine gun.

As the large tracers streak down the road, Leafa fires off a rifle grenade, stumbling one troll while Sinon carefully aims for the weak spots on another one before taking it out.

"There's so many of them!" Asuna yells, blasting away with her Thompson.

"Karl! Gimme a time delay on those HE fuses!" Seth orders, quickly being acknowledged by his loader. The next shell slams into the ranks of the trolls and punches a hole straight through a shield, detonating behind the wall of shields, stumbling most of them if not outright killing them.

"Beautiful! Hit 'em again!" Scott cheers, several of his group throwing grenades into the mob of disoriented trolls in front of them, while the mob behind them is steadily eviscerated with the steady thudding of the M19's twin Bofors.

When the grenades go off most of the trolls yell in pain from shrapnel, abandoning their heavy shields and charging headlong at _Squirrel_ and the accompanying infantry, only to be cut down by the combined fire of two squads and the tank.

The cacophonous rattling and chattering of automatic fire keeps up for at least a minute while everyone tries their best to repel the charging trolls, then suddenly stops as everyone waits for the dust and smoke to clear. Tense seconds pass by before a good breeze rolls up the street and clears the air, revealing only one troll remaining, stunned, with numerous dents and scratches all over its reinforced shield. It stumbles, then recovers, raising its shield and taking a step forward before _Squirrel_ fires, punching a baseball-sized hole in the shield, and the troll's torso. The monster takes a wavering step backwards, then falls, shaking the ground from the impact prior to disappearing in a burst of pixelated shards, leaving the street littered with the armor and shields from the trolls.

Seth steps away from the M2HB and climbs back down into his cupola, grabbing his handset. "Baker Two, we're moving up. Keep your spacing."

The group and their armored support begin advancing again down the boulevard, warily keeping an eye out for any more surprises until Seth calls a halt.

"Take five everyone! Check your ammo and share if you need to!"

Many of the ALO players have concerned faces as they sit down in front of a market and open up their inventory.

"Crap, I'm a bit low on ammo," Klein shouts, "Those trolls just ate everything."

"Same here!" Agil reports.

The same general message is repeated by everyone present as the tankers replenish their ammunition stocks from the ammo in crates on the exterior of their tanks. Those who can share divvy up their remaining ammunition, and some of the tankers even pass out ammo for their personal weapons before taking a quick break to choke down some K-rations for a combat boost.

Kirito decides to climb onto the back of _Squirrel_ and convene with Seth while his crew relaxes on the turret.

"Game plan." Seth yawns, pulling out a map of the town. "The goal ultimately is to drive Pact completely out of town, but to do that we gotta take their aid station and cut off their route of reinforcement. To do this we're gonna fall back and let the reinforcements take our current route of advance. Our objective is the small church at the far end of town. If we can take or destroy that, and set up to repel any Pact reinforcements coming into town, then we'll have an easier time taking the town."

"Alright, I like the plan," Kirito says glancing over the map, "What do you think of heading through this point?"

"That was the same idea I had, but I'm worried about our right flank. If there's a gun in those hills we'll be lined up like a shooting gallery."

"Would they even be able to drag a gun up there?" Kirito remarks, "According to the map, the terrain looks pretty steep."

"There's always a possibility. I'll have Rift take his Centurion and cover our right flank. Keep good spacing, don't get caught in the open, and watch each other's backs." Seth instructs as he folds the map up and puts it in his overalls.

"If we had more time, I would have scouted those hills, but we'll have to make do."

Kirito then hops off _Squirrel_ to brief the rest of the ALO players on the new game plan while the tankers mount back up, beginning to start their tanks and reverse down the street.

"Say, do you guys have any more news from Stonewall and Nguyen?" Leafa asks as she walks alongside _Squirrel,_ her rifle firmly in hand, "It's been a while since we've heard from them."

"Nguyen's still silent, but Stonewall reported while we were taking a break that _Warbreaker_ was resupplied, and he was en-route to help us."

"Shouldn't they have respawned by now?" Asuna remarks suspiciously, "Unless if those cavemen got taken out again."

Seth simply shrugs. "Might've rage-quit."

"They don't really look like the type to rage-quit," Agil says, "Nguyen looks too proud for that kind of thing."

"Eh think so?"

"During that mess in Aachen, Nguyen could have just logged out instead of hanging on."

"If you log out in contested territory though your avatar stays behind. They would've respawned in Cherbourg because that's where you take on the quest."

"That means they could be out of radio range then," Agil speculates, "Could explain their silence."

"Precisely."

As the Firefly's manage to turn around and move out of the way, three Churchills rattle past, British-garbed players sitting on nearly every available seat.

"Oy which way to the front?" shouts one of the Churchill commanders.

"Pact is thataway, but Paris is that way!" Seth jokes, pointing in two opposite directions.

"Thanks wise ass!" the player replies cheerfully while his tank grumbles forwards.

 **Xx-xX**

After a few minutes, the group reaches the outskirts of the town where Soviet players and tanks are massing.

"That must be 13th Guards," Seth explains to the group as one of the Red Army players waves at them and makes his way over.

"Comrades!" he shouts in a rather cliché accent, a PPSH-41 hanging on his chest, "Do you need ammunition or anything? We have brought a supply truck with us!"

"Thanks man," Kirito says with a grin, "We ran into some really nasty mobs in town and used up most of our ammo."

"Da, our truck is over there comrades," he declares, "Help yourselves to anything you need. The Soviet Union will provide what is necessary!"

Seth chuckles a bit and pulls himself out of the cupola to sit on the turret roof. "Much appreciated."

The Soviet player salutes them.

"We will see you on the field of battle comrades!"

Another one shouts at him.

"Vadim, get over here! Comrade Nonna is waiting for you on her JS-2! Comrade Katyusha is getting tired waiting for you!"

"Scrounge what you can from the trucks and let's get a move on." Seth instructs the ALO players, watching the Soviet players all begin to move out.

"That was a funny bunch," Liz comments as she walks towards the trucks, "It felt like watching a bad WW2 movie." The other ALO players also follow her as well.

"Sure did," Sinon adds, "All they needed to make it more authentic was a Soviet Commissar yelling propaganda-."

"Looks like they beat you to it." Agil remarks, pointing at a player standing on some rocks and reading a speech from a book in one hand and waving a PPSH-41 in the other.

"Can't blame them for having fun," Asuna says, "Cause it looks like they are."

Movement atop the ridge they'd come from draws everyone's attention to a scratched-up and dirt-covered tank silhouetted against the horizon, the desert camouflage riddled with dings and dents, scorched in some places, with the mudguards missing. It's difficult at first to tell what group the tank belongs to, until the turret turns far enough to the right for everyone to get a solid look at the bold white lettering on the barrel. The redheaded commander sits atop the turret with a pair of binoculars, looking out over the town while a moderately sized group of infantry jogs down the hill towards _Squirrel_. Not far behind the newly arrived infantry, another battle-scarred tank drives up, a large hole in the back of its turret and its commander clearly fuming.

 _{Baker One-Three, One-Actual. Gimme a sitrep.}_ Stonewall instructs, looking at them through his binoculars.

 _{One-Three here. We're trying a different approach. It's risky, but it's worth a try.}_

 _{Copy that. Commence when you're ready. One-Actual is going to remain in its position and provide support. We've had enough of the front line for now.}_

"Hey Liz!" Nguyen shouts from the top of _La Montréalaise,_ "Want to give us a hand fixing up the tank?" Liz begins making her way towards the tanks before stopping.

"We ain't got time for you to fix your shit, Frenchie!" Seth yells, "Should've fixed your tank before you came here!"

"Heille tabarnak, some fucking Jagdtiger blew off my radio," he barks back, "You try and coordinate shit without a radio!"

"You've got signal flags, don't you!?"

Nguyen shakes his head.

"I enjoy not being sniper bait! There's also a fucking hole in the back of my turret that needs fixing too!"

"Should've fixed it before you showed up!" Seth snaps impatiently, handing a handheld SCR-536 to a passing player to run over to _La Montréalaise_.

"Didn't have the time, spent it killing fuckwits alongside Stonewall here," the Canadian argues, "I didn't even get taken out!"

"Good for you!" Seth adds with a shake of his head before grabbing his handset. "Baker Two, let's roll."

Nguyen groans before ducks inside his tank after receiving the handheld radio, keeping his hatch open as he advances down the road, being mindful of the Australian players mixed in with American players walking on either side of the road. Doing a quick comms check, the Canadian confirms that his radio works, then takes off his headset and falls into line behind the M19.

Klein starts walking after restocking on ammunition, and is quickly surprised by a firm slap on the back.

"Hey there Klein! Nice cover back there at the pillbox." Amy says cheerfully, walking on his right. The ex-samurai awkwardly rubs the back of his head.

"Not good enough apparently. Thanks though."

"Don't worry about that. You did great on the initial assault, and that's what counts."

Klein blushes nervously.

"Y-yeah, I guess so," he stammers, "You did good too before being blown up."

Amy simply shrugs. "Just another pillbox. Did it like the couple hundred other ones."

Klein's eyes widen and he stops for a moment. "Couple hundreds?! Damn you're good!"

"I'm pretty average. It's kinda easy to get pillboxes in Burma, since sight lines are usually rather short." Amy says dismissively, slowing her pace slightly.

"Ah ok, got any stories to share?"

"A few. Some good. Some bad."

"What's a good one?" he asks while scanning around for trouble, "It'll help kill time while we're getting there."

"Hmmm . . . . Well, there's the time I flamed out an ammunition bunker . . . ."

"Euh… what?!"

Klein's outburst causes Seth to turn his head to look at them. After reassuring him that nothing happened, the ex-samurai looks at the flamethrower operator.

"That… must have been something to see."

"Understatement." Amy giggles. "I thought I saw some guys run into it so I flamed the door. Next thing I know all sorts of ammunition starts cooking off, so I dive in a crater and lay in the bottom."

"Betcha you got a lot of exp for that."

"Yeah. Anyway, so I'm laying in the bottom of this bomb crater, holding my helmet on my head and I'm just kinda laying there giggling like a schoolgirl while all sorts of ammunition cooks off a couple yards away, next thing I know a 47mm tank shell lands in my lap. I just kept laughing, couldn't stop myself. That's how they found me after the bunker finally calmed down, laughing my head off with a dud shell in my lap."

Klein can barely contain his shock before bursting out in laughter.

"You're amazing," he says between laughs, "How can you act like that?"

"Beats me." She continues to giggle. "It kinda reminded me of the 4th of July. You know those strings of firecrackers you can buy?"

"Yup, I always love seeing those things go off on New Years." Klein's face turns nostalgic. "Reminds me when I was a kid. We'd go to my grandparents' place for New Years and we'd set those off to kick off the new year."

"When it first started cooking off it sounded like someone just lit a whole bunch of those firecrackers." Klein smiles in understanding as she grins over her shoulder at him "I've told one of my stories. Your turn."

The ex-samurai leans his head back in thought. He briefly thinks of his exploits in SAO but dismisses the idea. Poor girl did lose her sister in that game. Finally, he settles on a story from ALO.

"Well, there was this one time where we were fighting this giant lizard in ALO," he says with a boastful grin, "That thing tries to crush us with its tail so everyone flies out of the way. Except me. I just step a bit to the side and I grab its tail. It couldn't do anything even if it tried using its poison breath attack on me."

Amy smiles at him and listens intently, her posture incredibly casual.

"Even poisoned, I managed to hold on to it so the rest of the group can kill it off," he finishes, "Almost got taken out but I managed to hang on long enough!"

"Dangerous, maybe slightly foolish, but effective." Amy observes.

"If it's what's needed for the team…" Klein chuckles as the column advances down a road, "Always happy to do it!"

Amy stiffens slightly, then nods and grabs her flamethrower nozzle with both hands after adjusting her helmet. "Yeah . . ."

He looks at her with a puzzled air, trying to figure out what he said wrong.

"Euh… are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Amy says cheerfully, though her body language betrays her. "You wanna maybe hang out after the battle?"

Klein suddenly stops in his tracks, jaw and eyes wide open in shock. He tries to talk but stammers. Amy sees him stop and stops as well, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hey, you lagging?"

"No… euh I mean yes euh no!"

Amy giggles and pulls the brim of his helmet down, opening her menu for a brief second. Luckily for Klein, Seth is too focused to notice what's happening between the two players.

"There. Sent you a friend's request."

"Eh!?"

Amy giggles some more and turns around, winking over her shoulder before jogging to catch up with the column, leaving a dumbfounded Klein behind. He shakes his head before he starts jogging as well.

"Hey wait up!" he shouts as he runs, making sure he doesn't stumble over anything. The column of men and machines moves through the part of town that was hit the hardest by the Musashi's guns. The buildings are shattered with debris littering the cratered streets. Occasionally, the sound of falling masonry mixes with the sound of burning wood.

"Come on paratrooper, pick up the pace!" She laughs back at him, making Klein grin.

"Don't worry! I won't fall behind!" he brags as he starts running faster, "Just watch me!"

The tank column suddenly stops, surprising the infantry players.

"Infantry move up! Call us up if you need!" Seth bellows, his voice echoing down the street along with the rumbling of the tank engines.

"You got it man!" Kirito answers back before taking charge of the ALO players' advance while the Australian players take the initiative. Their objective, a badly damaged church, is clearly in sight, yet the streets are strangely quiet except for gunfire in the distance.

"Keep an eye out for another ambush," Leafa says while Asuna goes over to Silica and Pina. The dog is calm as well, sniffing the air around it for anything unusual.

"There's no monsters nearby, but there's so much dust and smoke that Pina's detection is really short." Silica says nervously, holding her M1 Carbine readily while the dog stays at her side. Asuna nods.

"We'll just have to be more careful," the medic says before turning her attention to Sinon, "Do you see anything Sinon?"

The sniper glances at the various houses before shaking her head.

"It's almost as if they packed up and left town," she replies calmly, "Although they could just be all dead. That bombardement was pretty strong after all."

"Who would abandon a place that easily," Agil says, shaking his head as he vaults over the remains of a car, "There's cover everywhere."

Klein picks up a piece of brick and throws it as he's walking on the broken street.

"Hey Amy! Think your flamethrower would be useful flushing anything out?"

Amy grins over her shoulder and nods. "How do you think I got the nickname firebug?"

"Gotcha!" he chuckles, "What do you think the other team did?"

"They heard the firebug was coming and got the hell out of town!" She jokes, torching a semi-destroyed storefront. Klein laughs.

"Nah, they probably ran away when they heard I was coming to town!"

Kirito raises his hand in warning and takes a knee, looking around cautiously.

"Everyone stop, I got a bad feeling about this," he says while the ALO players halt and take cover, "Something's not right here."

The Australian players don't hear Kirito and stack up on the doors of the church, two players grabbing the doors and starting to pull them open.

Before they're open wide enough for a person to fit through, a blast rips through the silence, and the door is reduced to splinters. The windows all blow out, and nearly all the Australians catch shrapnel of some sort as they're thrown like ragdolls across the street. The ALO players and tankers watch frozen in speechless horror, and silence is only held back by the sound of the church collapsing in on itself. After the clattering and crumbling is over, an entirely new sound breaks the silence, seemingly in chorus.

"Mediiiic!"

"Wha?"

 **Oh boy… ouch? Real life Roscoe would be screaming "War Crime!" when that church went up. Seriously, you can't deliberately destroy religious buildings like that.**

 **It was quite fun giving more screen time to the ALO crew… especially Klein. Poor guy deserved more screen time and love (especially love) in the original series… thankfully Ordinal Scale fixes some of that and shows why Klein made it through SAO with 0 casualties in his Guild! Definitely a wasted character in my opinion along with Agil. Hope you guys liked the firefights too. We're doing our best to capture the chaos. BTW, did someone catch the reference to another military anime?**

 **Also K2-Black-Panther… you'll soon find out why Nguyen and none of his crewmembers'll ever compliment the ALO girls on their looks.**

 **Don't hesitate to review… it's always a blast reading you guys. Suggestions are always welcome too.**

 **PS: Try and guess what'll happen in the next chapter with the title we're giving it**

 **-Goodalwayswins98**

 **I wish that somebody would hurry up and make full-dive VR a thing. War-Torn would probably fly off the shelves faster than most of the FPS games companies are cranking out nowadays.**

 **It's difficult to capture the chaos of battle in a story and follow more than one character, but I'll be damned if we didn't try! As always, if you enjoyed the story, and/or want a weapon/vehicle/plane/ship/place/THING featured, drop us a review. We'll certainly put it into consideration. - SirStonewall**

 **Next chapter: Paris Pleasantries**


	9. Paris Pleasantries

**Chapter 9: Paris Pleasantries**

 **Well this chapter was one of the funniest ones to write. Won't be spoiling anything in the Author's note- Goodalwayswins98**

 **If y'all are here for combat, sorry to say but you're gonna be sorely disappointed. If you do however enjoy a good laugh at generic shenanigans, then you'll love this chapter. - SirStonewall**

 **Yuuki residence**

Asuna happily walks down the staircase, humming all the the while. It had been a nice day at school and the weather outside made everything even better. With the orange light of the setting sun filtering in through the large windows of her family home, . Her cell phone suddenly rings, and she stops in her tracks to answer before continuing downstairs, into the living room.

"Hello Kirito!"

" _Hey there beautiful,"_ her boyfriend replies, _"You got the invite too?"_

Earlier, she had received an email structured to look like a telegram message. Stonewall and Aria had decided to invite everyone to hang out in Paris in War-Torn tomorrow. Evidently, the quest to encourage players to invade Sicily and Italy was a huge success, and the front line was starting to get rather crowded.

"Of course! I can't wait to visit Paris with everyone," she answers back, "It'll be a nice change from all the fighting we've had in War-Torn."

" _Yeah, I can't wait to see how the devs got the whole city done in-game."_

"If it's anything like real life, it should be magnificent. I sure hope it'll live up to its nickname of City of Love."

" _If we like it enough,"_ he says warmly while chuckling lightly, _"Maybe we'll visit the place IRL."_

"Oh Kirito," she giggles, "That's a wonderful idea."

" _Listen, I gotta go, but we'll see each other later in ALO."_

"Okay, see you later love." Asuna says with a smile before leaning back happily on a wall. She suddenly hears a throat being cleared, and turns to the side with a start, spotting a familiar figure in the doorway.

"Mother?" she asks in surprise. The redhead had been so engrossed in her conversation with her boyfriend that she didn't notice her mother's presence.

"Young lady, what is this about visiting Paris?" Mrs Yuuki asks, entering the room to stand a few feet from her daughter. "On whose money, and what about your schooling?"

"It's in one of my games, Mother." Asuna defends, figuratively pulling the rug out from under her mother's feet.

"You can go to Paris in your games?" The older woman asks tensely.

"It's slightly different from Paris nowadays, but yes."

"I want to try it."

Asuna stiffens up and tries to explain the situation of War-Torn's version of Paris, not wanting to have her plans spoiled by her mother coming along.

 **Xx-xX**

 **The following day,**

 **War-Torn,**

In the streets of Antwerp, Stonewall sits patiently on a Harley Davidson WLA with the engine turned off, and his helmet in his lap while he watches the docks. He was waiting for someone, and that someone was due to log on any minute now. New players join in droves practically every minute or so, being welcomed by the greeting AI and pointed towards the ammunition depot.

Beside him, Aria sits behind the wheel of a jeep, her feet kicked up on the dash while she casually flips through the pages of the advanced player manual in an attempt to kill time.

"Learning anything you didn't already know?" Stonewall asks, adjusting how he's sitting.

"Yyyyyep."

"Care to share?"

Aria turns to the next page, not looking up while she talks. "I didn't know War-Torn had blackouts for fighter pilots."

Stonewall chuckles and nods, resting his arms on the speedometer with a grin. "I remember when we got to gather data for that. We just needed to get the average G tolerance for certain body masses, but everyone insisted that Dex should give the centrifuge a try. Credit to him, the guy survived seven G's before he blacked out."

"Poor guy."

"Everyone else thought it was funny as hell. I took a ride in it too, passed out at eight G's."

"Hmmmm…. Maybe we could take a break from fighting on the ground and try flying." Aria proposes as she adjusts how she's sitting.

"It's an idea- oh, there's dad." Stonewall says as he gets off his motorcycle and jogs towards a silver-haired man, giving him a hug. Stonewall dismisses the NPC that jogs up to them, and starts walking with the man back towards where the two vehicles are parked.

"Hey there Aria." He says with a smile, "Good to see you again."

"Hi Mister Stuart. It's been a while, eh?"

"A couple weeks at least. My boy keeping himself out of trouble?"

"For the most part. He's still in the doghouse for the stunt he pulled at the last meeting." The woman silently glares at Stonewall after she's done talking.

"I heard about that…"

"Well wouldja look at the time? Kirito and his bunch just logged on gottagobye!" Stonewall rushes the last of his sentence as he starts his motorcycle and peels out in a hurry. Driving down a dusty road, he passes by columns of trucks and armoured vehicles as he heads towards the teleport point to Paris. Arriving at the teleport point, Stonewall activates it and spawns on the north-eastern outskirts of Paris.

At his arrival, he is surrounded by the sounds of heavy armor. Tracks rattle as a column of heavy Tiger II's rumbles past, and he guns the engine, heading around to a parking area for the tanks, where _La Montréalaise_ is parked beside _Squirrel_ and _Miss Moody._ The tankers are busy minding their iron steeds or happily relaxing before heading into Paris for some fun times. Stonewall guides the motorcycle up beside the latter, and shuts off the engine, pulling his goggles up onto his helmet.

"Hey y'all!"

He's met with a series of greetings from the other crews.

"Yo what's up man!" Nguyen says as he hops off his tank. Making his way to Stonewall, the two players shake hands, and Stonewall puts the kickstand out before getting off the motorcycle.

"So Paris is still a go for today?"

"Yeah. My old man just logged on."

"Oh nice," Nguyen replies cooly, "I didn't even bother inviting Mother. She's already going to Paris with her boyfriend next month. Besides, she grew up in a warzone so she isn't too keen on going through that for fun eh."

A loud belch is suddenly heard. Both players turn their heads to see Tony mock scold Dick for his lack of manners while Roscoe and Lou both share looks of exasperation.

"Eww, you're disgusting Dick," Tony groans, "Why the hell did we let you have VR again?"

"Cause equality man." the driver says sarcastically as he tosses a bottle of Coca-cola away, "Stop oppressing me with your PC bullshit!"

"The fuck?"

"Everyone should have the right to VR they want. It's a free country man," the driver says, scratching his beard.

"False. You bastards live in Canada." Stonewall mutters, storing his helmet and goggles in his inventory.

"Eh we ain't North Korea eh?" Nguyen remarks nonchalantly as the pair walk towards the tanks, "We don't have to kiss our prime minister and queen's portrait every morning."

"Y'ain't as free as 'Murica!" Stonewall jokes.

"Whatevs'. Don't think we can handle that much freedom," Nguyen chuckles, "So how's the old man doing?"

"He's living the five to eight. Working his ass off as usual. I'm hoping War-Torn will help him get his aggression out a bit. He's always a fuckin' grouch…"

"Oh ok, hope so too," Nguyen says, "He's having fun so far?"

"We'll find out once he gets here with mah darlin'."

Stonewall suddenly feels something hit the back of his head. Turning to look over, the American sees a dirty, oil covered rag on the ground and Dick with a shit eating grin, sitting lazily on the driver's hatch.

"So you weren't happy with me saving everyone's hearing from Nguyen's shitty singing?" he remarks cheekily.

"I was happy that you did it, just not in your execution. I almost got a vision-block shaped dent in my forehead."

"Details man, details."

"Fuck you. I'll fuckin' brake check your ass next time we're in column, see how you fuckin' like it."

Dick suddenly leaps off _La Montréalaise._ Making his way over, he picks the dirty rag and starts waving it in Stonewall's face.

"Loosen up man," he chuckles, "It works."

"Hey, Dick." Stonewall says in a monotone voice. "You play in hardcore mode, right?"

"What? Yeah, why?"

"Nut check!" Stonewall yells before smacking Dick in the groin, followed by a surprisingly high pitched scream of pain. The larger player topples over in fetal position, holding his groin protectively while the rest of his crew either groan in annoyance or laugh at his predicament while onlooking random players cringe in pain. "Next time you wanna get in my face make sure you have hardcore mode turned off!"

"Tabarnak! You fucking wuss!" the caveman like tanker groans between pain filled breaths, "I'm gonna kick your ass for that calisse!"

"Hey everyone!" another voice calls out, "We late?"

"Not at all." Stonewall responds, 'accidentally' kicking the Canadian on the ground when he tries to step over him.

"What exactly is happening here?" a rather authoritative voice asks, clearly irritated.

"Just some good ole' horseplay ma'am. I don't believe we've met before." Stonewall responds as he looks at the group of newcomers, recognizing the familiar faces of the ALO players, except for a stern, aloof, older woman dressed in a British uniform standing next to a rather annoyed Asuna. The woman and Asuna both wear similar looking scowls on their faces and glare at Stonewall and Dick.

"Everyone, this is my mother, Kyouko Yuuki, though her VR nickname is Erika," the medic says, "She wants to come visit Paris with us."

Nguyen straightens himself out.

"Pleased to meet you ma'am," he introduces himself formally, "I'm Nguyen and these are my friends." He says this while pointing to his fellow crewmen and listing their names.

"G'day ma'am. I'm Stonewall. That little lady behind you with the braid is my fiance Aria. Next to her is my father, Roy." Stonewall says happily as he continues to introduce Rift's crew, along with Seth's crew, and the flamethrower operator who's close by Klein's side, wearing a rare smile.

Meanwhile, Nguyen and his crew, minus Dick, go to greet the newly arrived ALO players.

"Pleased to meet you," Erika says indifferently, scrutinizing each of the players, "When are we going to Paris?"

"When my driver'll be back on his feet," Nguyen replies jokingly, glancing at Dick who's stopped breathing heavily, "Won't be getting anywhere without him."

The burly player starts getting back on his feet while grunting "Gimme a moment."

"Alrighty y'all, pick a rig to ride." Stonewall instructs, climbing up onto the front of _Warbreaker_ and offering a hand to his father. Nguyen and his crew do the same though Dick's face is still pained as he climbs the tank. Erika looks absolutely scandalized after hearing Stonewall's proposal.

"Excuse me but don't you have proper cars?" she asks, "I think it is absolutely inappropriate to drive into Paris on tanks."

"Mother!" Asuna exclaims in shock.

"It's alright Asuna, it's a rather understandable request." Stonewall chuckles. "To answer your request ma'am, we do have jeeps, but there's so many jeeps in Paris that it's likely to get lost among them all."

"Aren't there normal cars?"

" . . . You weren't fully explained what War-Torn was as a game, were you." The American replies deadpan.

"Well yes but I still expected that there would be normal cars seeing as how the French did have cars in the 1930's," Erika coldly replies while Asuna rolls her eyes at her mother's stubbornness.

"The cars of the era aren't very comfortable, and they don't hold very many people. We can fit ten people on my tank alone, and the suspension is significantly better. Not to mention we're all rather low on credits."

"I see… I hope your money issues won't be a problem when we reach Paris."

"They won't. Now pick a ride y'all."

Agil, Liz, Silica and Sinon all head to Nguyen's tank while Kirito, Asuna, Erika and Leafa make their way to _Warbreaker_.

Klein starts to walk towards _Warbreaker_ , but Amy grabs his hand and steers him towards the motorcycle, sitting on it and patting the seat behind her while looking at Stonewall. "Klein and I are gonna head out on our own for a bit."

"Euh yeah!" Klein exclaims with evident surprise, "You know how to drive one of these?" he asks, impressed. One of the Canadians does a wolf whistle when he sees the scene.

"Of course I do." Amy replies with a grin, starting the motorcycle.

"Have fun with that Klein!" Stonewall laughs. "She drives like she has a deathwish!"

Klein grins back.

"I'm not afraid of a little danger," he boasts as he gets on the motorbike, "Besides, Amy looks like she knows what she's doing."

"You'd best hold on tight." Amy hums at him over her shoulder, a malicious grin on her face. The Fallschirmjager grabs onto two metal handles.

"Men these days…" She sighs, grabbing his hands and wrapping his arms around her waist before revving the throttle and peeling out of the parking area.

"Looks like someone's having a nice day," Nguyen mutters to himself as he's sitting in the tank commander's seat before turning his head towards his passengers. "You guys all ready to go?"

"We sure are!" Liz answers enthusiastically while Silica beams.

"Alrighty, enjoy the smoothest ride in Baker," he boasts before ordering Dick to start driving. Next to him, Tony's head is exposed as the loader opens his hatch to enjoy the nice weather.

"Say guys," the engineer asks nicely, "Do you still need a hand fixing whatever happened to your tank?"

"We're good but thanks Liz. That's really cool of you." Tony answers while lighting up a cigarette. The rest of the tank column steadily picks up speed.

"Yeah, we managed to fix the turret," Nguyen says, "Too bad the new radio was too messed up though."

"That badly?" she asks.

"Yeah, that shell totalled it," Tony explains, "Too much damage to a component and it's gone forever."

"What about you guys?" Silica asks sweetly while petting Pina, "Were any of you hurt?"

Both tankers shake their heads.

"Nah, for some unknown reason," Nguyen says, "The shot just went through, trashed the radio and went out the other side without doing anything to us. Thanks for worrying though." The last part is said in a warm tone.

"You're welcome and it's the least I can do for you guys for all the help you gave us in this world."

Sinon quietly smiles at the group's fun discussions.

"Don't sweat it," Tony answers lazily," RNGesus must have been watching on us that day."

"No kidding," Agil remarks, "You guys ever been to Paris? IRL or VR."

"Well there was this one time," Dick says emerging from his driver's hatch, "It was back in…"

 **Xx-xX**

"If this is comfortable compared to a car," Erika declares haughtily, "Then those cars must have been horrible to ride in."

The older woman is sitting on the side of _Warbreaker_ next to her daughter, Kirito and Leafa.

"We've got upgraded suspension, so the ride is smoother than the original, but some cars aren't _too_ bad. They're just expensive." Stonewall replies from atop the turret. "So you like the ride. How do you like the view?"

"Hmmph, I have to admit that it is very nice." she answers begrudgingly as she looks around the French countryside, "The trees almost look real."

Around them, lush rolling countryside surrounds the road the tanks are driving on. A light breeze and bright sun makes the experience rather relaxing.

Stonewall's radio suddenly crackles.

 _{Baker-one-actual, this is Baker-one-two. Comms check!}_

However, instead of being Nguyen's voice, it's a rather distinctively feminine voice.

Stonewall raises an eyebrow and grabs his handset. "One-Two, gimme your authorization code Charlie."

 _{Euhh, this is Liz here. Nguyen never said anything about an authorization code.}_

"That's alright Liz. I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember it anyways."

He hears her snickering on the radio, and looks back at _La Montrealaise_ to see Nguyen perched on the side of his turret, talking to his crew members while the remaining ALO players try to avoid busting out laughing. Liz is sitting in the commander's hatch with the handset in hand with a grin that reaches all the way to her ears.

 _{Yup, the idiots totally forgot it.}_

"Figures…" Stonewall sighs before turning so his legs hang over the counterweight on the rear of the turret. "Missus Yuuki, if I may ask a question?"

"Yes?"

Stonewall glances at his open cupola to make sure Aria isn't listening before turning back to her. "Aria and I have been trying to find decent places in Japan where we could get married. Being how you're an adult, and you live there… would you by chance know any nice places?"

The stern woman's face seems to soften up lightly while the rest of the ALO players look at him in surprise.

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it. There are many places that come to mind. How old are you young man?"

"Twenty-five. Oh um… there's also gotta be another criteria… the place has to be wheelchair accessible…"

"Wheelchair accessible?" she asks, slightly surprised.

"Yes ma'am. The wonders of Virtual Reality… You'd never be able to tell in-game, but I'm paralyzed from my L5 down."

Erika's eyes widened in shock.

"I'll have to think about it young man," she finally says after a few moments. Asuna looks at her in surprise as well.

"Thank you."

"If it isn't too indiscreet," Kirito shyly asks, "How did you euh-"

Both Asuna and Erika throw an ice-cold glare at him at the same time. He almost recoils as both mother and daughter have the exact same, angry expression.

"Motorcycle crash. I don't mind you asking, just don't make a habit of forgetting. Took a corner too fast on a wet road and lost control." Stonewall replies before giving a sigh and a light chuckle. "Guess that's what I get for speeding."

"Sorry man, didn't want to bring that up."

"It's alright. I did get one thing out of it though."

"Hmm? What was it?" Kirito asks as he stretches himself. He notices that Stonewall seems to be rather quite happy.

"A wonderful fiance who's actually qualified to take care of me."

"Right, so that's how you met Aria. I remember you telling us about it on that glider."

With impeccable timing Aria pops her head out of the cupola like a gopher, providing some comical relief for an otherwise awkward situation.

"I heard my name?"

"Yes, Kirito was wondering how you and Stonewall met," Asuna answers with a pleasant smile.

"Oh! Do you want the full story or simplified?"

"Think we'll have time?" Leafa says, looking at her map, "It'll be a nice story for the road."

"Hmmm…. Probably not. Tell you some other time."

"Oh ok."

 **Xx-xX**

"YAHOO!" Klein shouts as Amy dashes down the road on her motorbike, "You're pretty darn good at this!"

"Thanks!" Amy yells back, easing back on the throttle and slowing down to pull into the garage of a house in the countryside.

"Why are we stopping here?" the Fallschirmjager asks as the motorbike enters the garage.

"This is one of my player homes."

Klein blushes furiously.

"Wow, I didn't expect- I mean this is great!"

"What _did_ you expect?" She interrogates, turning off the engine and folding the kickstand down.

"Well, I thought you'd be like the other guys and Aria. Like you wouldn't have a player home, "he stammers, "But this is pretty cool."

"To start with, the Frenchies are idiots. Aria and Stonewall don't have an actual player home because they put all their credits into their tank and equipment."

"Oh," he answers awkwardly before finding his words, "How long have you had this place?"

"Since the game started. All beta testers got a bonus 200K when the game started, so I spent most of that on this place." She says while she opens the door and walks in.

"Pretty sweet crib you got here," Klein whistles as he takes in the surroundings, "Almost as good as Kirito and Asuna's place in SAO."

"So I've heard…." She tapers off, then lightly smacks herself on the cheek. "Sorry for being so standoffish."

"Standoffish?"

"Yeah, I've been kinda distancing myself from everyone. It's…. How I've dealt with things since SAO."

Klein looks at his feet and rubs the back of his head.

"Yeah… SAO was… SAO. I'm grateful that I got out alive. I managed to get all my guildmates out too. Still..." he answers, looking downcast, "It's not something that I like to remember too much.

"At times, me too." She says cheerfully as she grabs a couple bottles of beer and sits down at the table, taking a deep breath. "There's something I need to get off my chest."

"Eh?!"

Klein is completely flabbergasted, mentally panicking though it shows in his avatar as well. His eyes widen while his jaw drops, sweat forming on his brow as well.

"SAO…. It's over now, but… the time I spent in that game…. It might be the death of me…. Okay, there's no _might_ about it."

"Wha?"

"During my time in SAO I developed cancer."

Klein can't figure out anything to say.

"Couldn't they-I mean-healthcare-" he stammers, trying to figure out what to say before being interrupted by Amy.

"They did treatments, but it's just been getting worse and worse since I got out," she says while she rests her head in her hands. There's a rather long silence that is only broken by the sound birds chirping outside. Finally Klein sighs and bows his head.

"I don't know what to say. "

"The doctor gave me at the current rate of growth, even with treatment, a year and a half. I don't know where I'm going with this but will you go out with me?"  
Klein suddenly freezes up, causing her to slam a bottle down in front of him.

"Gah! What was that for?!" he shouts.

"Lag check!"

Klein bursts out in laughter.

"Honestly, no-one's ever asked me out like that," he says between laughs. Despite the gravity of the situation, Klein can't help but grin at Amy's energetic personality.

" _Has_ anyone actually asked you out?" Amy asks with a teasing grin.

"Well uh…"

"The girl in third grade doesn't count."

"Oh."

The former samurai keeps the little detail that no one actually asked him out in 3rd Grade to himself.

"Geez, I was kidding!" Amy giggles, popping the top on her bottle. "Soooo…. Is that a yes?"

"YEAH!" Klein exclaims as he bangs his beer on the table.

"Cheers, samurai." Amy says with a grin, offering a toast.

"Cheers to you too! To kicking ass together!"

The two clink their bottles together and take a drink. Then Amy gets up and finishes the rest of her bottle in one go. "Alright. There should be a dress uniform in your inventory. Get it on and let's go."

After going through his inventory, Klein's Fallschirmjager gear is replaced by an American dress uniform. A cap materializes on his head.

"How do I look?" he says with a grin.

Amy comes back dressed in a form-fitting American officer's uniform, an officer's cap on her head and a sidearm on her hip. "You look good, How do I look?"

"Pretty damn good!"

"Well then let's get a move on. Paris is waiting!"

 **Xx-xX**

"So Liz, how did you like being TC for one day?" Nguyen asks as Liz gets out of _La Montréalaise_ 's turret.

"It was pretty fun," she answers. "I wanna try being a gunner next time."

"You can be our TC anytime," Lou says grinning from his open hatch, "You already do it better than Nguyen on your first day," he jokes.

"Aww fuck you man!" the tank commander barks back as the tank comes to a stop.

"Thanks for the ride guys," Sinon says as she gracefully leaps off the back of ' _La Montréalaise'._ Taking in her surrounding, the sniper notices how the French architecture is elegant yet functional. Wide boulevard stretches before her eyes while lovely condos, small shops and fancy looking restaurants line the sides of the street. Baker's tanks are nicely parked next to a sidewalk, in front of a nice little café filled with customers. Players lazily walk down the streets dressed in sharp dress uniforms, making most of the crew of _La Montréalaise_ stand out in their combat uniforms. Nguyen and Roscoe don Canadian brown dress uniforms with holstered pistols while Dick, Tony and Lou have merely changed into less worn out tanker uniforms.

"Didn't you guys get dress uniforms?" Roscoe asks with a raised eyebrow. The three shake their heads in unison.

"We had to?" Dick asks flatly.

"I thought it was a waste of Requisition," Tony answers, "We never really go anywhere fancy anyways."

"I sold mine for to get some upgrades," Lou states, "I never thought I'd use it so I bought _useful_ stuff like medkits, ammo and rations."

"Who cares anyways," Dick says, waving his hand, "It's not as if anyone would give us trouble for this."

Nguyen facepalms, an annoyed look hidden by his right hand while Agil rolls his eyes, having changed into an American dress uniform. Liz, Sinon and Silica giggle at the absurdity of the situation.

"Let's just urgh go alright?"

Various grunts of approval and nods answer him as they walk towards _Warbreaker,_ whose passengers and crew have already disembarked.

"What the hell are you schmucks wearing? Where's your dress uniforms?" Stonewall asks, being dressed in a U.S dress uniform, complete with officer's cap and an Edelweiss flower tucked into the button hole of his uniform collar.

"Aww man," Dick groans, "Do I really have to get a fucking dress uniform?"

"Look around you." Stonewall chuckles. "One of these things is not like the other~"

The two continue arguing while Asuna and Erika look on.

"Asuna?"

"Yes mother?"

"Are these boys friends of yours?" Erika asks, scowling, "I thought I taught you better when it comes to choosing people."

Stonewall overhears Erika and looks over, taking off his cap while Dick glares at the older woman. "Sorry ma'am. We're more acquaintances than friends."

"The question still remains."

"They helped us when we came into this world and taught us what we needed," Asuna defends before scowling at the Canadians, "Though they could use a few etiquette lessons." Her mother nods in agreement.

The conversations fall silent for a little bit, then Stonewall clears his throat. "Let's head on over to the restaurant."

"According to the map," Nguyen says as he walks up next to his American friend, "There should be a nice one two blocks that way. Menu looks good to me." He points a restaurant that sits on the corner of a street. In front of it, there's a nice terrace with tables and umbrellas, with various players sitting there, enjoying food and refreshments while NPC waiters in suits cater to their needs. The mismatched group can't help but be impressed at the detail put into the environment around them.

"How does eating work in this game?" Erika asks skeptically, "I doubt that it can actually feed you."

"It can't, but it's something to swap stories over and just in general enjoy the effort the developers put into the game." Stonewall replies, opening the door for her with a smile. "Après vous madame."

The girls all enter first followed by the men.

"It also gives you bonuses but eh not something too useful for you," Nguyen adds, being the last one in. In front of the group, an NPC stands behind a little podium with a clipboard.

"Bonjour, how many seats do you require?" the waiter says with a thick French accent.

"Nous avons besoin de neuf places s'il vous plait," Nguyen asks in an elegant tone. (We'll need 9 seats please.) The ALO players can't help but be impressed. For once, he managed to speak French in a polite way.

"We'll have the dev suite please." Stonewall says with a smile, flashing what looks like an ID card.

"Oh, of course Monsieur. Right this way."

"Dev suite?" Agil asks with a surprised look while the group makes its way through the crowded restaurant, "Yo Stonewall my man, you really want to spoil us dontcha?."

Upon hearing "dev suite", some of the other players turn their heads in curiosity, looking at the group.

"Yeah. This place is a favorite of most of the devs, myself included."

As Nguyen looks around at the restaurant's lavish wood interior and enjoys the sound of a piano being played, he suddenly hits something hard.

"Ah calisse! Fait attention crisse!" shouts a female player dressed in a French dress uniform, lying on the ground. (Ah dammit! Be careful christ!)

"Oh," Nguyen stammers, "Excusez moi!" (Pardon me)

Offering a hand, he pulls the brown haired girl back up while her friends look at him in surprise. Baker and the ALO players stop as well while the rest of _La Montréalaise's_ crew having either looks of annoyance, snickering or facepalming.

"Est-ce que ça va?" (Is everything alright?)

The player freezes up for a second.

' _Probably just lag,'_ he thinks, ' _Probably someone stuck in the middle of nowhere.'_

His train of thoughts is interrupted.

"Est-ce que c'est vous M. Huynh!?" one of the other players accompanying the girl says while the rest of his group's jaws drop.

"Whoa fuck," the Canadian tank commander replies, "Comment ça vous savez qui je suis?" (How do you know who I am?)

"On est dans votre cours du lundi monsieur." (We're in your monday class sir.)

"Oh… eh bien, le monde est petit." (Oh… well, the world's a small place)

"Soo… what's going on?" Stonewall asks as the other players head to a different part of the restaurant while his gang are being led to the back of the restaurant.

"Who were those people anyways?" Kirito adds, throwing a glance back at the group of French players scurrying away.

"I'll tell when we're seated," Nguyen replies before whispering, "I don't want people hearing things ok?"

"What exactly are you hiding young man?" Erika asks with a raised eyebrow as they enter the suite.

"Nothing big really."

The NPC guides them up a staircase into a seperate room with a pair of long tables. Various plates of food cover one of the tables from end to end like a buffet, while the other is set with plates and silverware. Bottles of wine are set out alongside the food, as are bottles of champagne, and a fireplace on the far wall does a decent job at keeping the room warm. The NPC steps to the side and motions them in, then steps out once everyone is inside.

"Please, let us know if you require anything else."

Seeing everyone gawk at the room, Stonewall chuckles and motions to the food. "There's a bit of everything here. Dig in, it's all on me."

"Amazing," Sinon exclaims, looking at the luxurious food and beverages. Even Erika can't help but be awed at the detail put into this room's decorations, noting it truly feels like as if they're in a real luxurious restaurant instead of a virtual one.

"This looks almost as good as your cooking Asuna," Kirito says as he leads her and her mother to a table.

"What is he talking about Asuna?" her mother asks in curiosity. The medic beams.

"Well you see mother," Asuna explains as she sits down, "I'm a pretty good cook. It's one of the hobbies I have in VR though I learned a lot from cooking with our housekeeper."

"I see," Erika says passively.

"Whoa check this out," Kirito exclaims as he stands over a table, putting something on his plate.

"What is it?" Asuna asks as she helps herself to some Boeuf Bourguignon and some bread.

"They have frog legs!"

The medic and her mother both pale with nauseous expressions appearing on their faces.

"Ki-kirito! That's-that's-"

"Oh come on, I bet it tastes great!"

"Hey, don't diss it until you try it." Stonewall chuckles, putting a couple legs on his plate.

"Young man," Erika cuts in, "I've actually tasted frog legs and those things are disgus-"

She's interrupted by Kirito biting into one. His expression changes to a wide grin while the girls and some of the tankers share looks of disgust.

"This is actually pretty good. You sure you don't want any Asuna?"

"No thanks!"

Erika manages to slip a small smile that quickly fades at her daughter's answer.

"Say Nguyen, Stonewall?" he asks, "Are there any unusual food items in this world?"

"Yeah, hundreds. Some harder to get than others." Stonewall responds with a smile, grabbing an old-fashioned glass bottle of Coca-Cola from under the table.

"Like he said," Nguyen adds still looking around before helping himself to some foie gras and bread, "I heard some guys from Charlie got themselves some Troll steaks after the airfield raid. Never found anyone who could cook the damn things though."

He throws a glance at Asuna.

"You could-"

"No!" she answers quickly while Nguyen finishes his bread and foie gras before returning to the various dishes on the table. The man is looking at the various plates, searching for something he likes. Finally, he turns towards Stonewall.

"Yo, they have any hamburgers and fries here?"

Stonewall chuckles and points at the far end of the table.

"Really Nguyen?" Asuna says in disgust, with hands on her hips, "There's all this good food and you choose to go for junk food?"

Both her and Erika look at Nguyen with scowls and disdain while Tony and Lou snicker at him.

"We tried teaching him good taste," Lou replies with fake despair as he helps himself to some roast beef, "But I'm afraid he's hopeless. We'd have expected something better from a man of culture like him."

"I'm a very simple man alright?"

"Fuckin' simpleton…" Stonewall sighs.

"Man of culture?" Erika asks perplexed, "You haven't answered my questions about those people either."

"Well," Nguyen says as he straightens himself out, "Those people were my students. I'm a History professor at a college in Montreal."

"WHAT?!" both Erika and Asuna yell as their jaws drop in shock. Everyone else besides the tankers have surprised looks on their faces with the exception of Stonewall and his father, who don't seem to care.

"Yeah, I got a Masters in History. That's how I've been helping out with War-Torn," Nguyen continues as he piles some fries next to his burger, "If you want, I could link some of the stuff I've been working on lately."

"Yeah… this idiot is a professor." Stonewall sighs.

"You're a professor?" Erika asks skeptically while helping herself to some steak and fries, "I find it troubling that a college would hire you."

Nguyen glares at her.

"Excuse me but I happen to be quite good at my job. Who do you think you are saying that?"

"Because I happen to be a professor as well and you don't strike me as having the mental capabilities. You seem to be rather to-"

"PARDON?!" he shouts in French.

"Nguyen, calm the fuck down!" Roscoe barks from across the room, "Erika, please don't talk to him like that alright?"

"Contrary to popular belief, he's not a _complete_ idiot." Stonewall chuckles.

Nguyen lets out a breath to calm himself down.

"You do realize I enjoy VR simply to relax after dealing with my students eh?" he replies in a calmer tone, "You probably have your fair share of dunderheads as well."

Erika can't help but smile.

"Indeed…"

"So if you're a professor… just how old are you?" Liz asks in curiosity.

"Me? Just turned 33 a couple of months ago," Nguyen answers.

"Excuse me but you look younger than your age," Silica remarks shyly, "Is it because of your avatar?"

"Eh, I've always been told that I look young for my age."

Agil laughs a bit, starting to dish up a plate.

"So that means you're older than me. Wait till I tell Klein about this."

"He's the baby of the crew actually," Roscoe says as he makes his way over with a plate, "I'm the oldest one since I'm 36."

"Damn, you guys are old," Liz remarks with a smile as she helps herself to some cheese.

"I take offense to that." Stonewall's father remarks with a chuckle.

"Almost forgot you were there," Nguyen says, "Sorry about that."

"No worries. You kids ain't old."

Kirito looks over at Stonewall and Aria.

"What about you guys?"

"I'm twenty-five, she's twenty-four." Stonewall says. Kirito nods in understanding as he puts some food on his plate, sitting down beside Asuna, while Erika sits across from her daughter.

"Dig in everyone!" Asuna orders as the last of the group sits down. The sound of pleasant conversation fills the room with everyone talking about various subjects.

"So what all is there to do in this game?" Stonewall's father asks him.

"Tons of things. There's a high need for non-combative roles, such as recovery vehicles, engineers, truck drivers. People get paid pretty handsomely to help rebuilt from bombardments too."

"Hmmm… I've always wanted to fly…"

"That can be arranged. Hell I might even join you."

"What's the cutoff date for vehicles?" The older man asks, a thoughtful glint in his eye.

"1955, why?"

"Think we could get our hands on a B-36?"

Stonewall hums thoughtfully and finishes chewing his food, opening up his menu with a keyboard. He types in a search bar and leans back after a moment. "Yeah… no… that's 4.6 million that I don't have. We could get away with a B-29 though, that's only 630,000."

"Can I join in if you guys get a plane?" Leafa asks, "I'd like to try it out with you guys and if I like it, I'll grind to get my own one."

"Yeah sure thing. We'll all benefit from going to a gunnery class first though." Stonewall replies as he closes the menu.

"Anyone know where Klein and Amy went off to?" Nguyen asks innocently while Liz and Asuna facepalm. Agil snickers before answering.

"Those two are probably having fun sightseeing together," the black man says with a smile, "Sounds like someone hasn't been on a date for a while."

Roars of laughter suddenly erupt from where ' _La Montréalaise'_ s crew is sitting.

"A while you say?!" Lou exclaims, "Whenever he gets drunk IRL, he's always crying about his lack of girlfriends."

"I do not cry," Nguyen says in a childish tone with angry tears forming in his eyes, "My eyes are just shit."

"Dude, you look like you're about to cry right now." Stonewall interjects with a chuckle.

"Am not!"

"So what exactly did you work on during your Master's Nguyen?" Erika asks in curiosity as she helps herself to caviar. His face softens before he clears his throat.

"I worked on the policies surrounding the arrival of the Vietnamese Boat People in Canada and the United States," he explains with a well rehearsed tone, "Essentially how their respective governments drew up their policies to take in the Vietnamese refugees and what motivated them to do so-"

His explanation is interrupted by a familiar but muted sound and as well as the sound of a dish falling. An ominous howling that stays steady and keeps the quiet at bay.

"AIR RAID!" Nguyen yells at the top of his lungs before diving underneath a table causing Silica and Erika to jump up in surprise.

"Nguyen! You're not helping!" Roscoe shouts as he gets up from his seat. His friend peers out from under the table.

"Well sorry if my reflexes kicked in!" he barks back, "We'd better get our asses out of here."

"Man, it could just be a scout plane that triggered the air raid alarm," Lou snaps, his eyes rolling in annoyance. Barely a second after he finishes his sentence, the sirens stops.

"Huh… I'll be damned," Nguyen remarks lamely as he sits back down.

Over the course of a couple hours, the group finish their meal with various topics of discussion.

"Anyone wants desserts?" Dick asks loudly as he finishes a bottle of Coca-cola. Many pairs of eyes turn towards him in approval.

"I sure do!" Liz exclaims, raising her hands in joy, "I can eat whatever want in here."

Stonewall reaches over and grabs a rope hanging from a bell, ringing it three times with a grin. Moments later, a trio of NPC's wheel in carts heaping with desserts, much to everyone's joy.

"Alright!" Call dibs on the coffee eclairs!" Nguyen yells happily.

"Do they have macarons?" Asuna asks.

"First come first served. If they don't have what you want then we'll ask. Nguyen, if you eat all the coffee eclairs I'm gon' kick yo ass, _boy_." Stonewall says above everyone's comments and questions.

"I still call dibs!"

 **Xx-xX**

"Well that was a delicious my man," Agil praises as the group exit the restaurant into the warm afternoon air. Everyone nods in agreement.

"I must admit that that was rather pleasant," Erika adds neutrally as she looks around the busy street. Players and NPC's move along the road with relaxed airs. Many are dressed in their dress uniforms or even civilian clothing.

"So where do you think we should go first?" Nguyen asks Stonewall. Both are standing at the head of the group with Kirito next to them.

"Maybe the Eiffel Tower?" Kirito proposes.

"We could visit the catacombs of Paris!" Dick suggests with an evil grin, "It'll be interesting."

Asuna and Erika both glare at Dick while a loud schmacking sound echoes followed by a string of curses.

"What the fuck man!?" he exclaims, rubbing the back of his head while an angry Lou stares at him.

"NO!" Lou barks, "You'll just use that as an excuse to fuck with our heads."

"Calm down guys," Roscoe snaps while shaking his head annoyance.

"Are there ghosts inside the catacombs?" Liz asks slyly.

"Liz," Asuna sternly warns though there's a hint of nervousness in her voice, "Don't bring that up."

"Due to the complexity of the catacombs, they aren't modeled in-game." Stonewall sighs with Dick looking disappointed.

"Aww…"

"But back to what we were saying," Nguyen says, looking at Kirito as the group approaches their tanks, "Eiffel tower's a good idea but I think we can also visit other places before going there. There's the "Arc de Triomphe" and the "Invalides" that could be interesting as well."

"Is there a place I can get a sword?" Leafa adds.

"We'll have to visit a supply depot I think," Agil answers while Nguyen nods.

"Perhaps we could visit the Sorbonne as well?" Erika suggests.

"If that's what you want, sure thing. Mount up folks!"

"Is it too late to join the party?!" A familiar voice yells as a self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle drives up.

"Oh great it's fuckstick…" Stonewall mutters before waving at the M19 commander. "You missed the meal but we're doing some touring 'round the city!"

"Jar-Jar had to show up didn't he?" Nguyen whispers to Stonewall, "This is gonna suck."

Behind him, the rest of the Canadians are barely able to hide their scowls.

"He's always gotta mess things up." Aria mutters

"As I said, mount up!" Stonewall calls out, walking over towards _Warbreaker_. The various tankers climb on their vehicles first before helping their friends get on board. Everyone gets on the same tanks that they did earlier in the day.

"Want to try out our radio Sinon?" Nguyen asks as he gets into his cupola, "I'll let you do the comms check."

"Sure why not?"

Nguyen hands her the handset before turning on the radio.

 _{Baker-one-actual, this is Baker-one-two. Comms check!}_

"One-Two, this is One-Actual, loud and clear." Stonewall replies with a grin as the tanks begin moving.

 _{I'm afraid I don't have the authorization code but it's Sinon.}_

"That's fine. I did that last time just to get a reaction out of Nguyen. Enjoying the ride?"

 _{It's pretty fun. Sure beats walking but still I feel I'm a big target.}_

"Well, a tank is public enemy number one in combat. But I don't think you'll have to worry about that here."

 _{You got a point there Stonewall. I'll enjoy the ride over here then.}_

As Sinon gives back the handset to Nguyen, the tank commander suddenly gets a flash of realization.

"Say Sinon?"

"Yeah?"

"You took a look if you have any bounties against you?" he says in a serious tone. The sniper doesn't answer but instead decides to quickly check her menu. Her jaw drops.

"Yeah I got one alright," she answers briskly, "8000 requisition for taking me out."

Nguyen's head snaps towards her.

"Fuck, did you hear that guys?" he says with awe in his voice before talking again to Sinon, "You must have pissed off someone important in Pact."

Agil, Liz and Silica all look unsurprised.

"Considering how good you are with a sniper rifle," Liz remarks, deep in thought, "I'm not surprised."

"Maybe you took out someone important without knowing it?" Agil adds with Silica nodding, "That could be why they want your head on a platter."

"It could be that or Sinon took out a lot of people," Tony says as he peers out of his loader's hatch, enjoying the fresh air, "Players who deal lots of damage tend to get noticed… especially if they're infantry players."

Sinon's mind races back to something that she didn't pay too much attention to.

"Maybe that sniper I took out in Italy," she answers, "I did get a bounty notification after taking her out."

"The one targeting medics?" Silica asks, "He must have been very mad if he got taken out after so many kills?"

"It was a girl though."

Nguyen pulls off his helmet and scratches his head.

"I did hear that Pact had a bunch of snipers that deliberately targeted medics in battles and it pissed off our faction leaders big time. Maybe you got one of them and they want your head for that," he theorizes as their tanks drive down the wide streets of Paris, marked by beautiful architecture.

"Probably," Sinon answers before boasting, "But I'd like to see them try and collect that bounty."

"No one beats Sinon with a sniper rifle," Silica adds proudly while playing with Pina.

"I believe it," Nguyen says with a smile, "Enjoying the sights?"

His passengers nod in agreement.

 _{One-Two, One-Actual, put Silica on the horn for me? I just remembered something from the patch notes.}_

"Will do," Nguyen answers, "Hey Silica, just got a word from Stonewall. Wants to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"Here you go," he says, handing her the handset."

 _{Silica, I think I recall you saying Pina was a dragon in ALO?}_

"Yes, why?" she asks in surprise.

 _{Open up your inventory and select Pina. Under the 'interactions' tab there should be a check box that says 'revert to previous avatar'. Just in case you want her back as a dragon.}_

Silica brightens up at hearing this.

"Really?!" she replies happily, her voice on the verge of shouting. She quickly opens up her menus before getting to Pina. Selecting the checkbox, Pina glows brightly for a few seconds as her form gets smaller and grows wings, being slightly larger than she was in both ALO and SAO.

"Pina!" Silica says as the dragon lands on her shoulder, "Thanks Stonewall!"

Her enthusiasm suddenly stops.

"Stonewall?"

 _{'Sup kiddo?}_

"Does Pina still keep her skills?" she asks shyly.

 _{I believe so. There might be more skills too, since there are tameable dragons in War-Torn as well.}_

The girl squees in happiness, making Stonewall wince and move his headset away from his ear.

"Your hearing's still working man?" Nguyen asks while wincing in pain, "My low tolerance for high pitched sounds IRL carried on into VR. Never had a chance to figure it out before today."

 _{Aye, my hearing's fine. Thankfully I'm used to having women squeal in my ear-OW OW! Would you quit hitting me?!}_

"Roger that man," the Canadian says before shuddering as he hears slapping noises. "That's gotta suck, dumbass," he mutters to himself.

"Sorry," Silica answers sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it."

 **Xx-xX**

"Welcome to ze Eiffel Tower mes amis!" Lou said in a cliché French accent as everyone hops off their respective rides, "Zis is ze greatest engineering marvel ever built by France."

"Shut up," Dick groans as he walks up to Lou and slaps him behind the head, earning a few snickers from Klein, Agil and Liz. Erika, meanwhile throws an annoyed glance at Asuna. The medic has a rather unimpressed look and nods in silent agreement.

"Sorry about Lou," Nguyen says as he hops off the turret of ' _La Montrealaise',_ "He needs to work on his manners a bit."

"So I've noticed," Erika remarks before looking at the Eiffel Tower with barely concealed awe, "This is rather impressive."

"Indeed, Nguyen's buddies really knew what they were talking about ma'am," Stonewall adds, "Apparently, one of them found some new archives while she was doing research in Paris."

"Good thing Amélie had the right contacts," Nguyen says to Erika and Stonewall before turning to the rest of the group, "Y'all want to get to the top of the tower?"

Everyone nods in excitement excluding Stonewall and his father, who both merely shrug and shake their heads.

"Eh? How come you don't want to go up?" Nguyen asks.

"I got to go up when I was in Paris promoting the game, and I've been up there at least a dozen times since the game launched." Stonewall shrugs again. "I'mma get my dad all caught up on the player manual. We'll wait for y'all."

"Fair enough," Nguyen says before turning back to the group, "Good news for us is that the elevator works despite it being 1940's Paris."

He then points to where the elevator is.

"Lucky us, there's not alot of people so we should be able to get topside quickly," he adds as the group begins walking, "So let's go."

 **Xx-xX**

"Whoa amazing!" Silica exclaims as she looks over the horizon. The group is on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Paris stretches all around them as they enjoy the view.

"I did not expect such a thing to be possible," Erika remarks neutrally, "I must admit Asuna, I am impressed with this technology."

Asuna can't help but nod in agreement. Meanwhile, the others are taking screenshots of the view.

"Man, if this is what Paris looks like today," Agil comments, "Then it's my next trip with Kathy."

Sinon throws a glance at him.

"Well, I heard that the city of Paris was more than happy to sponsor the development of this part of War-Torn," she explains, "They hoped it would bring in more tourists IRL."

"Well, they were right about that," Liz chuckles as she looks at the Champs-Elysée, "I really want to go now."

"Maybe we could go there someday all together?" Leafa suggests with a smile. The group all nod in agreement.

"Been there a few times," Dick grunts as he scratches his beard, "Place smells like dog piss. Good thing the devs didn't model that."

"Dick, that was totally not necessary," Roscoe scolds as he rolls his eyes, "Don't listen to this fucking idiot. Go there if you want to."

"What man? I'm just stating a fact."

"Dumbass," Roscoe mutters as he resumes enjoying the view.

"Fun fact though," Nguyen says cheerfully, "The Parisian officials gave the devs some conditions in exchange for sponsoring the game. Notably all monuments are indestructible safe-zones."

"I can understand why," Kirito remarks,"Look at how beautiful this place is."

"Didn't they compromise though?" Sinon adds, "Like they made the monuments indestructible but still modelled bomb shelters."

"Yup, NPC's try go there during air raids and battles," Nguyen explains, "Makes it more immersive. Players can go too if they want. Had a bad experience during the fight here though."

"Talk about attention to detail," Asuna says before being interrupted by her mother.

"Why would they model bomb shelters?" she asks with a glare, "Are there enough fools that want to destroy this place for fun?!"

"You'd be surprised," Kirito answers, "There's all sorts of people in the VR worlds and not all of them can appreciate the nice things these worlds have."

A scowl of disgust appears on Erika's face.

"Not to mention all the towns had to be liberated from the other team, so fighting in Paris was inevitable. People weren't just going to give up such a luxurious place." Aria says with a slight smile, leaning on the railing and looking out over Paris.

"That was a toughass fight," Lou says with pride while Nguyen scoffs.

"Yeah, I still remember your high-pitched screaming when you forgot to unsafe your gun man."

Lou glares at his tank commander.

"I didn't forget to unsafe my gun. It fucking jammed on me."

"Yeah right."

Their tirade is suddenly interrupted by a falsetto voice.

"Oh no! My gun won't shoot! Ah save me from the Germans guys! Wah Wah! I want my mommy!" Dick mimics as he fakes crying. Meanwhile, the ALO players can't help but snicker at the banter.

"Fuck you man," retorts Lou as he does a rude finger gesture, "At least I didn't nearly blow up an entire ammo dump while I was in it!"

"It was either that or getting fucked over by orcs and trolls man. I know you like gay monster anal sex but-"

"Gentlemen…" Aria warns, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists. Meanwhile Kinh and Tony were laughing on the floor. Roscoe is merely annoyed at the argument.

"He started it mom," Lou whines, pointing at a grinning Dick.

"Can you two get a room or something," Roscoe says while facepalming, "We can't even enjoy the Eiffel Tower without you idiots acting like babies."

"It's not so bad," Liz cuts in with a smile, "It makes things more fun."

"I like how you think lady," Nguyen exclaims with grin before he high-fives Liz.

"You gentlemen are acting like idiots in front of a guest." Aria sighs, "At least try to act mature?"

"Sure, whatever," Dick mutters while Lou nods.

"Thank you miss Aria," Erika comments, her scowl replaced by a more serious expression, "I am happy that some people here value etiquette."

She throws a glance at Asuna and Kirito that has "Why didn't you do anything?" written all over it.

"You're quite welcome." Aria hums, giving Erika a smile before she looks down at the ground, then quickly steps away from the railing.

"Are you afraid of heights Aria?" Silica asks, noticing the older girl's sudden discomfort.

"Y-yeah. I'm trying to break myself of it, but…" Aria trails off and looks up at the sky, taking a deep breath. "It's difficult."

"It's ok," Silica says before gesturing to Pina. The feathered dragon flies over to Aria and lands on her shoulder before rubbing its head against the gunner's.

"Thanks Pina…." Aria sighs softly, scratching the dragon's chin with a slight smile. She suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder and someone whisper to her.

"It's gonna be alright," Sinon whispers as she hugs Aria, "You're with friends now so don't worry."

Aria can only offer a nod of thanks before she steps away. "I'm going to head down to solid ground."

"I think we should get down too," Leafa proposes, "We've been here long enough."

 **Xx-xX**

"So what did y'all think of the Eiffel Tower?" Stonewall asks with a grin.

"It was beautiful," Asuna replies smiling, "Thank you for taking us there."

Kirito nods in approval.

"Are there other monuments like this one?" he asks.

"Yeah. There's the Colosseum in Rome. Big Ben in London is protected, as is Buckingham palace. The Notre Dame Cathedral is protected too. There's more places that are still being added too."

"Like what?" Erika asks passively.

"Mostly places in the Pacific. Japanese shrines, temples. Shuri Castle was just recently added."

The Japanese players all have surprised looks on their faces.

"Wait what did you say?" Leafa asks, "You mean that they actually put in those places?"

"Of course. The Emperor's garden is a protected area too."

"I must admit that I am quite surprised that Americans were willing to spare that much effort for a mere game," Erika remarks, "Especially for Japan."

"War-Torn isn't just another game. Everyone at the studio gave it their all to make sure everything was _perfect_. It's not just intended to be a game. It's a learning opportunity." Stonewall said with a prideful smile on his face.

"Whatever you've intended, it is quite impressive," the older woman replies.

Stonewall's radio suddenly came to life.

 _{Stonewall! We should make a right here to get to the Champs-Élysées._ _There should be a bridge a couple of blocks afterwards.}_

"Roger that. Right turn. Over the river and down the street." Stonewall replies dutifully, the heavy vehicle slowing and easing into the turn. Once the tank starts accelerating again, he turns to face the embarked players again. "Yeah… Sometimes I can't believe all of this started from a list of ideas in my ninth grade English notebook."

Kirito couldn't help but have a feeling of déjà-vu.

"You must have had a lot of imagination," Leafa chuckles, "There's so much detail."

"Not _all_ of this is from my notebook. I gave the guys a skeleton, and they're the ones who put the meat on the bones." Stonewall chuckles as his tank drives through the bustling streets. His conversation is cut short by Nguyen hailing him.

 _{Yo, you see that nice little cake shop on your front right?}_

"Yeah. What about it?" Stonewall asks, his driver slowing down.

 _{That's where we're stopping. From here, it's a quick walk to the Champs Élysée.}_

"Solid copy. _Warbreaker_ halting."

As the Pershing rumbles to a halt, Stonewall stretches and stands up on the turret, smiling warmly as the sun shines on him.

"Everyone off!" Nguyen orders enthusiastically, "We're here."

Shortly after, Liz, Silica, Agil and Sinon hop off _La Montrealaise_ followed by her crew who pull themselves out of the tank's hatches before hitting the ground. Dick and Lou stretch their legs, enjoying the fact that they aren't confined by a tank.

"Let's mosey y'all, no hurry-" Stonewall says before he's interrupted by a familiar and eerie howling of sirens starting up.

He suddenly hears someone swearing followed the thump of a body hitting the ground.

"Get up you idiot!" Lou yells at Nguyen who's lying on the ground, "You're not helping!"

Tony rolls his eyes.

"Probably another false alarm," he groans, "Stop stressing for nothing man."

Suddenly the sound of whistles being blown followed by the sound of engines grabs everyone's attention. Turning around, they see civilian and military policemen driving around on cars.

"Attention! The city is under air attack! Everyone is to evacuate to the nearest bomb shelters!"

As Nguyen tries to stand up, he's grabbed roughly by the collar by Dick who hurls him forward.

"Move!" the burly driver shouts.

"Nobody panic. Keep moving in a calm and orderly fashion." Stonewall instructs. "We should be alright, provided our interceptor pilots have their shit together."

The door of the cake shop nearby suddenly dings, and five players dressed in pilot casual wear stumble out, running to a jeep and dashing off.

"Move it!"

"I'm movin'! I'm movin'!"

"We gotta get airborne!"

Stonewall stares slack-jawed as the jeep starts up and accelerates down the street, out of sight. A couple seconds pass, then Stonewall sighs. "Okay then! Everyone follow me to the safe zone! Hurry along!"

Nguyen is still slack-jawed at the scene but after a few moments, he picks his jaw up.

"I hope the other pilots got their shit together."

"Don't we have an AA vehicle?" Dick grunts before spotting the M19. The burly player rushes through a crowd and over to the tank, "Get that fucking gun ready man! We're being attacked!" he shouts at the commander.

"Uhh ehh okay!"

"Anyone know where Klein and Amy are?" Nguyen asks, looking for their friends through the crowd.

"We should worry about ourselves first man!" Roscoe barks as he checks his map, "There a safe zone over there!"

"I just messaged them, they're at the Arc de Triomphe." Stonewall replies, herding everyone along.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Erika exclaims angrily with her hands on her hips.

"Some players on the other team are being assholes and trying to ruin our good time by launching a bombing raid. Keep moving towards the safe zone and everything will be back to normal in a few minutes." Stonewall replies quickly.

"You heard the man!" Nguyen yells.

"Couldn't we use the tanks to move faster?" Liz asks. Taking a quick glance at the filled street, the engineer shook her head. "Nevermind that."

"Keep moving everyone!" Stonewall yells over the sirens and the crowd, watching the horizon to the east, spotting a swarm of black dots in the sky.

"This is gonna suck," Nguyen complains as he and his crew start running. The rest of the group follow them through the throngs of panicked players and NPC's.

"We're in the safe zone now!" Aria yells to inform everyone nearby as they crossed a street and took cover under a tree. "Find a place to sit and we'll wait out the raid!"

Stonewall keeps directing people to keep a semblance of order to the situation as the sirens continue to blare, a sound akin to thunder beginning in the distance.

"Someone's getting XP at least," Nguyen remarks dryly, "Let's hope their aim is good though. If we're lucky, they might stop the air raid."

"With that many planes, it's not likely." Stonewall sighs before looking over at the ALO gang, plus Erika. "Guess these guys get to experience a raid on the hard end."

"How long do you expect this attack to last?" Erika asks with her hands on her hips.

"Well, if I had to guess, judging from how fast the planes are gaining on us, and how many planes there are… I'd say maybe another ten to fifteen minutes. I'd have a seat if I were you. These raids are quite the humbling experience." Stonewall yawns, starting to get tired of Erika's attitude. The older woman scoffs before sitting down.

"Well… might as well make the most out of a bad situation," Nguyen says as he opens up his inventory menu, "Snacktime!"

A cardboard box materializes in his hands. Stonewall and the ALO recognize the infamous K-Rations.

"Anyone want to join me?"

"I'm good. Erika, how would you like to try a ration packet?" Aria asks, offering a carton to the older woman. Out of the corner of her eye she catches Asuna glaring at her, but Stonewall motions for her to stay quiet, wanting to see the end result.

"Thank you," Erika replies politely as she opens up the packaging, missing Stonewall struggling to hide his amusement. The older woman pulls out a packet of crackers, a small metal tin, and a chocolate bar, then follows Aria's instructions, opening the tin and putting some of the SPAM on the cracker, then taking a bite, her brow almost immediately furrowing. She swallows almost painfully, then glares at Nguyen and Stonewall. "How can you eat this?!"

"Hey, at least the chocolate bar tastes like the real deal." Stonewall chuckles, earning a glare from both mother and daughter.

Nguyen fidgets for a moment and stands up.

"You know what?"

"Hmm?" Stonewall hums, looking at him.

"We could totally go man an AA gun and get some good EXP from shooting bombers!" he exclaims.

"I'm gonna pass. It's a big swarm, and you're likely to end up like Sally."

"Who's Sally?" Leafa asks, glancing over.

"Dunno. It's a joke." Stonewall chuckles, "'Where did Sally go after the bombing?'"

Asuna and Erika both glare at him, a feeling that the joke was a rather dark one rolling over them like fog.

"Everywhere!" Amy cheers as her and Klein approach, moving her hands for extra effect.

A healthy chuckle fills their ears.

"Just like whatshisface did during the Gustav raid," Dick remarks between guffaws.

"That's just… horrible!" Erika and Asuna exclaim.

"What's so funny about that?!" Liz adds in.

"You clearly don't have a sick sense of humor, you wouldn't understand." Amy defends.

Meanwhile Nguyen and Dick are laughing on the floor. Tony has a smirk on his face while Lou is facepalming. Klein and Agil join in the laughter while Sinon glares disapprovingly. Silica, meanwhile, is having trouble picking up her jaw, and Leafa shakes her head, regretting asking her question.

"God that's fucked up good sir" Lou says in a posh voice, "Well played."

He fistbumps Stonewall and Amy.

"You girls got a point," Roscoe mutters before scolding his fellow tankers, "That's fucked up man."

Erika throws the K-rations in the nearest trash can and sits back down, seconds before the sound of anti-aircraft guns roar to life inside the city, firing at the quickly approaching bomber swarm.

"Well let's hope the AA gunners got their shit together," Nguyen says, still redfaced from the laughter, "We might be able to enjoy the rest of the day."

"Where are our planes?" Leafa asks, glancing at the skies, "Shouldn't they be in the air by now?"

"There should be some, but they can't engage safely until the flak stops." Stonewall responds as he sits down.

"Wonder if Tcat's around here," Nguyen remarks, "Heard his squadron was still getting ready to move to the Italian Front."

"I heard they had already moved, but I haven't talked to him since after Aachen, so I might have false information." Stonewall replies with a shrug.

"Who's Tcat?" Leafa asks, her head leaned to one-side.

"One of our buddies," Nguyen explains, stretching his legs, "He has a squadron of planes and a damn good pilot at that. Saved our asses a few time from Pact."

The Canadian glances over at Stonewall.

"Remember that time near Vimy?"

"Oh lord, don't remind me." Stonewall groans.

"What happened?" Kirito says, joining the conversation.

He hears a short groan.

"Was that the time with those fuckin' dive-bombers?" Dick groans as he lays on the grass.

"And we got caught out in a field with nowhere to go? Yeah." Aria groans.

"And some moron yelled at us to keep charging?" Roscoe adds, eyes rolling, "That fucking sucked."

"The Russian wannabee," Tony adds, "Did anyone ever see that guy again?"

"Yeah. I avoided him like unexploded ordnance." Stonewall huffs as he lays back and stares at the sky.

"Well considering how Roscoe grilled him", Nguyen chuckles, "Idiot never talked to us again."

"Here they come…" Stonewall sighs, watching the bombers enter his field of vision. "Bombs away. . . -OW!"

Stonewall's depressed statement is interrupted by Amy kicking him in the side, a scowl on her face while she points at his face.

"None of that depressing shit! I'm having a really good time, don't fuck it up!"

"Yes ma'am." Stonewall replies quickly, giving her a salute before he returns his attention to the sky above them. After a moment he squints and sits up, shielding his eyes from the sun before going wide-eyed. "Jesus- look at that big bastard coming in! Tallboy!"

"That's too big to be a Tallboy, that's a Grand Slam!" Amy cheers, seconds before the massive bomb whistles in, stopping some fifty feet above the street when it hits a panel that says 'Immortal Object'. It seems to hover for a moment, then detonates in a massive explosion that makes all the players nearby flinch.

"That's an expensive miss!" Stonewall chuckles nervously.

"Suckers!" Nguyen chuckles as he smugly raises a middle finger to the bomber filled skies before turning to the rest of the group.

"That my friends... was a bomb weighing 22 000 lbs meant to blast through fortified submarines bases. Thank god for Immortal Object barriers!"

"Oh shit y'all! Here comes more!"

 **Xx-xX**

"And now to dig our way out of this bombed-out city." Stonewall sighs as the group makes its way back towards where the tanks were parked, "I'm real sorry for the inconvenience Erika."

"Inconvenience? You call this… _inconvenience!?_ " the older woman ranted, "How can you call this inconvenient?!"

"Been in worse…" he mutters, rubbing his lower back.

"This is absolutely barbaric!" she interrupts "How can you enjoy this place if savages can merely show up and destroy for fun?!"

"It'll be rebuilt in a couple of days." Stonewall shrugs nonchalantly. He swears that he saw a vein pop in Erika's forehead.

"Asuna."

"Yes mother?"

"How do we log out again? I've had enough of this… nonsense," she snaps.

"Swipe down with your left hand, middle and index fingers together, other fingers curled closed."

The woman does exactly as she's told before vanishing into a trail of pixels. A sigh of relief is suddenly heard coming from Nguyen.

"Thank… god."

Asuna glares at him before softening up.

"Yes, mother is quite… demanding."

"Kirito… Dude, and I thought _my_ in-laws were bad." Stonewall chuckles. Kirito's face is frozen in confusion, his jaw dropping. He suddenly feels someone nudging him, and turns aside, seeing Klein grinning at him.

"I guess that's where Asuna got her temper from," the former samurai jokes, winking at Kirito. A low chuckle catches his attention.

"Like mother, like daughter," Agil adds, "That's where she gets that glare of hers from."

"Ahem."

Turning over to the source, Stonewall, Agil, Klein and Nguyen flinch at Asuna's death stare.

"That's scary as fuck lady!" the Canadian exclaims before seeing her glare turn into a satisfied smirk.

"You were right man," Klein whispers to Agil who simply nods.

A pair of arms wrapping around Stonewalls neck over his shoulders brings the American's attention to his fiancee.

"What was that about my parents…?" Aria says with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Tell me I'm wrong." Stonewall challenges.

"Someone's fucked," Dick muttered, watching from afar as he fiddles with a branch.

"Euh guys, I think we'd better get back to the tanks," Roscoe suggests, "Like time's flying."

Lou's eyes widened.

"I hope the tanks didn't get hit!"

"Step-to! Move with a purpose!" Stonewall says firmly, bending his knees and pulling Aria up into a piggyback ride with a surprised yelp on her part.

"You heard the man! Let's go!" Nguyen barks as the group starts running towards their parking spot. Around them, players and NPC's are starting to move from their shelters.

"They sure didn't miss the place," Liz remarks as she looks around them. Buildings had collapsed and fires are slowly consuming buildings. Players and NPC's alike are trying to put out the flames and tend to the wounded.

"I'll say," Sinon adds, glancing at a pile of rubble where a cafe used to be, "They really wanted some easy kills."

"Are they trying to dig people out?" Leafa asks as she sees people working around collapsed buildings.

"Maybe. That or they're trying to get a head start at clearing rubble." Amy responds with a smile, walking beside Klein.

"Could Pina help them find anyone stuck under the debris?" Silica suggests sweetly.

"If you and Pina want to help them, I'm sure they would be really grateful." Aria says with a smile as she spots a pair of NPC orcs digging through rubble.

"Doesn't it give you free exp or something?" Dick asks.

"Something like that. A fair amount too." Amy responds as she runs her fingers through her hair.

"Thinking what I thinking guys?" Nguyen remarks as he looks at the rest of his team.

"Lemme guess… you want to get some free exp dontcha?" his driver groans. Seeing his friend's head nodding.

"Just as I thought. Sure."

"I don't really blame- WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY TANK!?" Stonewall yells, looking at the spot where their tanks were parked. ' _La Montréalaise'_ is lying on her side while a giant crater exists where 'Warbreaker' used to be.

"FUCK!" Nguyen shouts at the same time before whining, "My tank! Aww man… Where the fuck am I supposed to find an ARV?!" 

"Dude fuck your tank! That was all my credits!" Stonewall yells, "Ninety thousand credits, straight down the shitter!"

"Ja- uh… Stonewall." Amy mutters. "You're an idiot."

"You don't have to remind me." Stonewall groans.

"It'll be alright guys," Kirito says reassuringly as he pats Stonewall's shoulder, "You can always get another tank."

"You're the last person that should say that!" Liz retorts dryly.

"Eh?"

"Idiot! You don't remember how you broke my best sword?!" the engineer screeches with Kirito recoiling and Asuna glaring at him.

Stonewall unenthusiastically opens his menu and groans, putting his face in his hands. "Nine thousand credits."

"We'll help you get some credits," Nguyen suggests, "Italy's rich in loot and we can get some real nice shit there."

"I've got a M36B1 still in storage. It's gonna take some work to get it running, but…. It's better than nothing I guess." The American sighs.

"Yeah… now let's find a fucking tow."

 **X~-~-~X**

 **Yuuki residence**

As Asuna logs out, she notices her Amusphere's clock. It's almost 7PM, meaning almost supper time. Quickly dressing herself, the Tokyo teenager prepares herself mentally for the meeting with her mother before heading to the family's dining room. She hopes that her mother isn't too angry at how the day turned out. As Asuna walks through her home, she mentally prepares herself with arguments so that her mother doesn't take away her Amusphere while hoping that her mother wouldn't be there.

Opening the door, Asuna could see her mother's harsh figure sitting in the dim candlelight, waiting for her arrival. Sitting down quickly, the VR player began eating when her mother clears her throat.

"Young lady," Kyouko asks in a serious tone, "Where can you even begin to think that that was pleasant?"

"Erm… well…"

 **X~-~-~X**

 **College Montmorency**

Gathering his papers and books, a history professor begins to walk out of his class. He had just finished answering after class questions about the assignments he handed out. It had been another pleasant day of work with a group with many promising students.

' _But now… back to home sweet home.'_

As the Vietnamese man with glasses walks out, he can't but occasionally listening to his students' conversations as they walked in the hallways. It was usually a mix of gossip, complaining and weekend planning but one of his students' conversations got his attention.

"Bro… my wingman and I took out a pair of tanks during the Paris raid yesterday. Fucking noobs left their tanks on the streets so I didn't get bonuses for killing their crew."

The student flinches as he hears his professor's voice. It's tone rather cold.

"Do tell me more gentlemen."

"Yesyes M. Huynh!"

 **Mother like daughter eh? Hope you guys laughed as much as we did when we wrote this chapter. I had a metric ton of fun writing this. I hope it answers some of your questions K2-Black-Panther.**

 **A question for all our readers… who's your favorite War-Torn OC? Answer it in your reviews. As always, we enjoy reading your reviews and they keep us going!**

 **-Goodalwayswins98**

 **Next chapter: Midnight mayhem**


	10. Midnight Mayhem

**Chapter 10: Midnight Mayhem**

 **Authors' notes:**

 **Goodalwayswins98: Sorry about the long update time gang… reality hit like a freight train. Good news is that I finished my classes and have more free time now. Special thanks to F14 Tomcat-Lover for his OC Tcat and** _ **'Nite Lite'.**_ **Hope you enjoy a certain kendo champion's first flight!**

 **War-Torn Studios.**

"Jackson, you're sure you want to do this?"

"Mikey. That's the fourth time you've asked me since we left the house. Yes. I'm absolutely fucking positive. Now go find Dex if he's not up to his neck in paperwork."

"Find me for wha-... Are you gonna try what I think you're gonna try?"

"Yup. Now get your ass over here and help me."

"You're gonna get yourself in trouble…"

"Shut up and grab that side."

"Crazy bastard… Okay, I've got it."

"On three. One… Two… Three!"

 **War-Torn.**

The familiar sound of players materializing in sounds at the spawn point. Taking in their surroundings, Kirito and his friends notice that they are standing on the beachhead that they landed earlier.

"Wow looks like they've been pretty busy while we were gone," Kirito whistles, looking at the new supply depot that stands before him. Trucks move supplies around while players mill around before heading further inland.

"Looks like their promotional idea really kicked off," Asuna adds as the group begins walking towards the depot, "They told us to meet them at the tank depot."

The rumbling of a tank ahead suddenly catches their attention.

"Hey guys! How are you doing?" Nguyen shouts from the cupola of _'La Montréalaise'_ while waving at them _._

The group of ALO players waves as Kirito answers him.

"We're doing great! Where's Stonewall and Aria?"

"Ah they're at the Tank Depot in England, trying to get their M36 back online. "

"How's that coming along?" Liz asks, a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Very slowly. They've had to scavenge for parts since Stonewall's so low on credits."

"Ah… is there anyway we can help?" Klein says, a hand on his chin and beating Liz to the punch.

"Yes there is," Nguyen replies, "We're heading over there to give'em a hand with repairs and scavenging. Want to help?"

Taking a quick look at each other, the ALO gang nod.

"How can we not?" Kirito says, grinning ear to ear.

"Hop on then!"

 **X~-~-~X**

"Come! On! Move! You! Fucking! Bitch!" Stonewall growls with each tug on a large wrench, hanging from the underside of the metal handle and using his weight as he tries to loosen up a rusty bolt.

"Need a hand man?!"

"Yeah! Hey Nguyen!" Stonewall yells, bouncing his weight on the bar a couple more times before the bolt finally moves, dumping him on the ground.

"I'm coming and I got a few extra pairs of hands besides my crew too," his friend replies.

"I've been looking forward to try some real repairs," Liz says with determination, cracking her knuckles as she walks over to Stonewall, "So how can I help?"

"Uh…. well the transmission needs to be removed. Start working on that."

"Where's that?" she asks, not familiar with the layout of a tank.

"Just follow me Liz," Nguyen says before turning his attention to Stonewall, "Got anymore tasks for the rest of us?"

"Well, I could take a look at the engine," Lou suggests, "What do you think Dick?"

"Sure, sure whatever."

"If we can get it running it'll be easier to get parts." Stonewall reminds them, putting the bar on another bolt and trying to break it loose from it's rusty prison.

"I don't think we can be really helpful fixing the tank," Kirito says, scratching the back of his head and looking at it.

"Where's Aria by the way?" Asuna asks, looking for the other girl.

"Salvage yard down the road. She's trying to get interior components." Stonewall grunts as the bolt loosens up enough for him to remove it.

"Maybe we can go give her a hand?" Tony suggests. Roscoe nods before looking at Silica and Pina.

"Hmm… I think that Pina could be really helpful," he says, "Her companion skills can help us find the parts faster I think."

Silica nods enthusiastically while Pina squeaks in approval.

"I'd love to help," she answers as she pets the little dragon, "and so does Pina."

Klein stretches before smiling.

"I think she's gonna need a couple of strong arms to help her yank those parts out," he says, winking at Agil, "Dontcha think old man?"

A short yelp of pain exits Klein's mouth as Agil smacks him behind the head.

"No problems."

"Oh uh, hey Leafa?" Stonewall says as he pulls the idler wheel off the tank. "Tcat's got an open seat down in Malta if you want to fly."

The blonde's face suddenly lights up like it's Christmas Morning.

"Really?!" she exclaims, excitement apparent in her voice.

"Yeah. From the sound of it, you'll be his back seat radar operator."

"Eh?"

"He'll teach you the basics. Teleport to Luqa and meet him at the hangars on the south end. Look for a tall guy with a crew cut and war paint."

"Dirty blonde hair," Nguyen adds as he and Liz try and undo the M36's transmission cover, "Should help you find the guy a bit faster."

"Leafa, the nearest portal is over by the scrapyard." Stonewall advises, pulling the eccentric out of it's housing.

 **X~-~-~X**

"Hey Aria! Where are you?" Asuna calls out as she and her friends enter the scrapyard. The hulks of once proud tanks are neatly arranged in rows around them. Various players are rummaging through the wrecks with many swearing as they try and remove parts.

"Guess this is where all the destroyed tanks end up?" Kirito remarks as he watches a pair of Soviet players struggling to remove something from the engine block of a T-34 using a hammer.

"OW! Bloody buggering-!" A familiar voice snarls from a nearby M36 before Aria sticks her head out of the open-topped turret. "Oh! Hi!"

"Hey Aria!" Silica greets back, waving, "Do you need our help?"

"Yeah, it'd really be appreciated." The older woman giggles, waving them up with grease-stained hands.

"So how can a couple of guys with lots of elbow grease help?" Klein asks with a bragging tone, cracking his knuckles.

"Well, the gun breech needs to be dropped so the mechanism can be salvaged, but I think we need someone with a little more lead in their arse than you Klein. No offense."

Agil chuckles before clapping his hand on Klein's shoulder.

"I think I can help with this," the black man says before climbing on the tank.

 **X~-~-~X**

"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Liz remarks as she and Nguyen remove the last bolt on the transmission cover of the M36.

Wiping sweat off brow, the Canadian grabs a swig from his canteen before answering.

"Yeah, the engineers who designed this thing actually remembered that people needed to fix the damn thing."

"Definitely better than when I used to command a Panther." Stonewall says with a shiver of disgust.

"German engineering eh?" Nguyen snorts dismissively.

"Overcomplicated as hell, prone to breakdowns, and absolutely no way to fix important shit in the field. Like y'know, the transmission."

His friend chuckles a bit. Liz, on the other hand, was looking at the transmission in curiosity.

"Reminds me of my family's old German cars," Nguyen says, "The first one's transmission was always giving my dad headaches while the second one cost an arm and a leg each month to maintain. Fun to drive but the rest… urgh."

Liz looks over to Stonewall.

"Say Stonewall?"

"'Sup?"

"Think you got a room for me on the tank?" she asks with a hopeful smile.

"Sure, what crew position are you interested in?"

She puts her hand on her chin before thinking. After a few moments of thought, Liz answers.

"Can I be your driver?"

"Driver? Uh…. sure, I guess. Do you know how to drive a manual transmission car?"

"I think I can learn," she answers. A gruff voice comes from the engine deck.

"Cool, want me to teach her?" Dick suggests, an evil grin on his face as he turned his head towards them.

"HA! No." Stonewall growls, glaring at him.

"You sure? Come on, I could teach all sorts of cool tricks."

"We're good. Thanks."

 **X~-~-~X**

Leafa appears at the entrance of an airbase. It looks rather late, with the moon shining above them. Despite this, she hears activity coming from the various hangars, and watches a pair of single engine planes taking off from the runway.

"Amazing." she whispers before a voice snaps her out of her reverie.

"Who goes there?!"

Looking at the source of the voice, Leafa sees a pair of American players carrying Garands pointing at her.

"Ehh… uh… I'm looking for a player named Tcat? I heard there was a seat open for a night flight."

The two soldiers look at each other before one speaks up.

"You Leafa?"

"Yeah?"

"Boss told us to keep an eye for you." the guard says as he lowers rifle, "We were waiting for you alright. I'm Carlos by the way and this is Arnie."

"Oh, pleased to meet you both."

Carlos rubs the back of his head apologetically.

"Sorry about the welcoming committee," he explains, "We got word that other squadrons got their planes sabotaged before the Paris raid. Seeing as how Malta is dangerously close to the front…"

Leafa nods in understanding.

''I see what you mean," she answers, "So where's Tcat?"

"He's over in the third hangar over there." Arnie says as he points to one of the hangars on the far end. "Carlos will go with you so you don't get bothered anymore."

"Thank you!" she exclaims as she and Carlos begin walking across the tarmac. Various planes sit under camo nets with crews hard at work repairing, arming and tuning their precious birds. Another pair of two engined planes are taxiing down the runway towards a couple hangars on the side, where multiple NPC's stand with a half dozen trailers holding bombs.

"Just how many planes are here?"

"We're past capacity, so more than fifty. A bunch of then are on mission right now though."

Leafa shakes her head in disbelief.

"How bad are things here?" she asks, "I heard that Malta was under regular attack."

"Every night; you're pretty much guaranteed action here."

Excitement starts to bubble in Leafa's heart while nervousness starts to grip her stomach at the same time.

"Hold where you are." A new arrival orders, walking over to them with a dog at his side. The German Shepherd sniffs at her hand, then gives it a lick before the trooper waves them along. "Carry on, you're clear."

"You guys really aren't taking any chances are you?"

"Nope. We've already had our fair share of troubles. Don't need any more by letting saboteurs in." Carlos says with a shake of his head, "Someone send a message to Tcat that his passenger's here."

One of the guards nods before picking up his radio and relaying the message.

"He says he'll be over in a few moments," the guard says, putting down his radio's handset, "Just wait for him here. Tcat has a few things to settle first."

Leafa nods before the guard points her to a seat in his guardpost.

"Sooo… this your first VR?" Carlos asks, sitting down on a sandbag wall.

"No, I started out in ALO with a friend," she responds with a shake of her head.

"ALO? Bit of a learning curve between that and War-Torn, eh?"

She chuckles.

"Well my friend used to play GGO and we got lucky and ran into some cool players," she explains, "They were nice enough to show us how to play."

"Did they ever tell you that they got bonuses for teaching you?"

"Eh?! They never told us that!"

"Heh. Yeah, the devs made it so if you have new players in your squad you get a times five bonus of requisition points." The dog handler chuckles, "They did it so people would interact more with each other."

Leafa's shocked at hearing this. Did they take advantage of her and her friends?

"No way," she mutters, crestfallen before she realizes something, "If they were taking advantage of us… then why did they buy us gear and go on quests with us."

"Some people have a kind but selfish heart." Carlos says with a shrug.

"What did they do with you?" the dog handler asks, lighting up a cigarette before proposing one to Carlos and Leafa.

"Well, lots of things actually," she answers as she counts the adventures she'd had with Baker on her fingers, "They fought with us in our first battle, took us on a few raids including a Boss raid and invaded Sicily with us. Stonewall and Nguyen took even us to Paris and paid for everything."

The two players freeze up for a second.

"Stonewall?!" Carlos exclaims, almost dropping his cigarette, "As in the freakin' dev?!"

"Yeah."

"Isn't he stuck in a wheelchair or some shit IRL?" the dog handler asks, flicking a bit of ash off his cigarette. In the background, the sound of droning engines reverbates as a pair of bombers take off.

"Yeah, he told me and my friends all about it," Leafa awkwardly explains, not wanting to tell more than necessary, "A motorbike accident."

"That's right. He does snippet recordings and posts them on the game's website too. If you haven't seen it already, you should watch his Sicily video. Dude gets himself into some crazy shit sometimes."

"You're lucky to be rolling with him. He's a good player, and -I've heard- generally a nice guy unless you start trolling other players." Carlos says with a satisfied nod as he snuffs out his cigarette, "Here comes the cat."

Leafa spots a tall if slightly pudgy player sporting short, dirty blonde hair approaching her.

"Hey there!" the player greets. Taking a closer look, she notices his pilot's uniform and glasses. What strikes her the most however is the player's facial warpaint. White stripes run down his cheeks and nose, with red and black stripes filling in the gaps, leaving plenty of his regular skin tone exposed.

"Hi! You must be Tcat," Leafa answers.

"That I am," the player replies with a friendly smile, "So you're part of that new gang that Nguyen and Stonewall picked up after the Japanese release?"

The blonde nods.

"Wonderful! One of my most reliable sources said that Pact was going to launch a spoiling raid against us tonight," Tcat explains, "It should be a good opportunity to get you up to basic with aerial combat."

"Is it really that hard?"

"It's moderately realistic," Tcat explains as they passed a F4U-2 Corsair Night Fighter that's getting pushed by hand to its pilot, "For instance, there's G-LOC, and most of the equipment you'll be operating during our flight is as historically accurate yet player friendly as they could get it."  
"G-LOC?" Leafa tilts her head in confusion.

"Essentially losing consciousness because you tried doing a stunt in your plane and it was too stressful for your body."

"Oh… um… how likely is that to happen…?"

"Well, not very likely with me at the controls. I know how to handle my plane so that it doesn't happen. If you've got decent strength and endurance stats you'll be fine."

Leafa sighs in relief. Her build type has plenty of both. Though other aspects could use some fine tuning. She was only moderately better in health Asuna and slower in speed. Since they both use a similar build, neither could take tank hits. But Leafa had, at least, done some reading on the subject.

"Good thing I buffed my strength recently then."

"That means you won't blackout easily," Tcat remarks before pointing towards the airstrip where three night fighters are taking off, "We should have an hour, or an hour and a half before Pact's bombers get in the area. The plan is to stack our patrols and positions to get the max out of intercepting them," waving an arm forward, "So let's go."

"Alright."

Leafa follows the man across the busy tarmac towards one of the hangars. As she gets closer and is able to see through the partially closed doors, she sees a sleek, two-engined plane with a forked tail and an oddly out of place pod under the nose. Compared to the sleek flowing lines of the black painted aircraft, the pod almost looked like a tumor, something crudely bolted on, but she assumes it serves some sort of purpose.

"What is this plane?" she asks with awe in her voice.

"That, miss Leafa, is a P-38M Lightning," he proudly boasts, "I got her as a rare drop a few months ago. She's designed for night interception or interdiction missions, and Stonewall may have told you but you'll be working the radar set. Her name's Nite Lite."

"Yeah, if that's what he meant by 'flying back seat'." she answers, "How does the radar set work?"

"Come on. It's easier to show you." he says as he leads the girl to his fighter.

"I guess you're right."

The two climb up onto a ladder next to the plane. There are two ladders. One for the front seat and a second for a back seat. They are simple things that don't look out of place in her own home. Tcat throws a leg over the top of his plane, to pull himself up a bit, and then Tcat motions for her to sit in the rear seat as he leans against the canopy.

"So why Nite Lite?" she asks as she sits into the cockpit.

"Because the guys on the ground want to be able sleep soundly at night," he states as slides down back onto the ladder before he leans in, getting almost uncomfortably close to Leafa, gets immediately nervous by his proximity, but the space is tight to begin with she figures. "Anyways. Radar. As I said earlier, this is simplified from the original. These two view slits here are for finding range and direction," Tcat indicates the two in turn for easy reference, "You'll see a blip, then look to one side of the viewing station and you'll see some numbers," tapping the left screen, "Left viewing station is for range," then the right, "Right viewing station is for direction. You'll look between both of these often, and it'll be your job to guide me onto the plane."

Leafa's mind is getting overworked with the complex explanation. It looks simple, but is it simple? She had learned enough to know that simple isn't always easy and easy isn't always simple.  
"Could you say that again?" Leafa looks embarrassed as she scratches her cheek.  
"Alright…" Tcat sighs, taking a deep breath afterwards.  
 _'Rookies_ ,' he thinks in his mind as he begins explaining again.

 **X-~-X**

 _{So how are you liking this so far?}_ Tcat calls out over his P38's intercom, the plane's engines droning on as it climbs into the night sky.

"I had no idea harnesses were so uncomfortable," she replies, squirming around in her seat. Leafa can't help but appreciate her new pilot's gear. It's a brown leather fighter pilot uniform and has a black leather helmet with goggles. The various straps are slightly uncomfortable however.

 _{Yeah um… I don't know how to say it politely but certain body figures don't really fit well in harnesses. There's quite a few players that gave up the idea of flying because it they didn't like how the straps work but I heard that the devs were working on a way to make them more comfortable for the more casual players.}_

Leafa reddens slightly. Tcat must have sensed her discomfort and quickly changes the subject.

 _{So yeah, besides that, you liking it?}_

"Yes, it's very different from flying in ALO," she answers, "I can feel how powerful this plane is and I have to admit that the engines sounds add a little something."

 _{That's the beauty of the two Allison engines on this girl. Hang on tight!}_

She hears chuckling before her body is jerked around as Tcat pulls his fighter into an upward spiral.

 _{YEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAW!}_

"What was that for?!"

 _{Waking you up and testing you!}_

Leafa huffs and rolls her eyes in annoyance.

"That was not needed," she replies dryly.

 _{Playtime's over though! We should be arriving at the patrol area right about now,}_ Tcat announces, _{You remember how the radar works?}_

"Yes I do," she answers as she presses her eyes against the radar screen and fiddles with the controls.

 _{Excellent, so stay sharp then.}_

Leafa begins to activate the knobs on the fighter's radar set, turning the search spread to maximum to cover the most area possible. She continues to monitor the empty screen for several minutes before a couple dim, fuzzy blips fade in.

"Tcat… uhh I think I have some contacts…."

 _{Bearing and range, Leafa.}_

"Uh… one-nine-two, eight miles, lower than us?"

 _{Roger that? You remember how to get the altitude?}_

"Uhh… they're like… two thousand feet lower than us.. I think."

 _{The altitude's the number on the side of the scope Leafa. What does it say?}_

"They're two thousand five hundred feet below our current altitude."

 _{Roger that.}_ Tcat replies. The P-38 begins to slowly dive towards the coordinates that Leafa said.

 _{Are they maintaining course?}_

"Adjust more left. Five degree turn."

Tcat silently complies as Leafa feels the fighter banking right.

"I don't think they know we're here," she says, looking at her radar's scope, "They're maintaining their course. Nothing else appeared on the radar either."

 _{This is going way too well for my liking. Well, let's take out those bombers for the time being. Distance?}_

"Four miles and closing. We're starting to get below them a little."

 _{I'll climb up a bit then.}_

Nite Lite begins climbing again to higher altitude before leveling out. Tcat's voice suddenly erupts in a cheer.

 _{Tally-ho!}_

"You see them?" Leafa asks excitedly, looking out the cockpit.

 _{Twelve O'clock low! Thanks for the guidance missy!}_

Looking out, she sees a dark silhouettes over the sea, the moon reflecting off their metal skin to further identify them, one of them even has its external lights turned on.

 _{Looks like we've bounced a group of Ju-88's and some new crew forgot their navigation lights on.}_ Tcat mutters as they slot in behind the formation, though why hasn't anyone said anything? Even as he lines up his first shot, the pilot has a nagging suspicion something isn't right even as he gently caresses the trigger.

Leafa looks up from her viewing station just in time for Tcat to shoot at the closest bomber, seeing the large aircraft twinkle from hits before it slowly wings over to the right, beginning a death spiral.

The plane then gently banks right as Leafa hears another salvo being unleashed. This time, the plane disappears in a massive fireball that's almost blinding.

 _{That was a 177!}_ Tcat calls out, _{They burn more than I thought!}_

Seconds later, Leafa hears the drone of engines slot in behind them, and looks over her shoulder in time to see a two-engined plane lining up on them.

"Tcat! Plane behind us!"

Leafa is abrupt thrown against her harness as Tcat quickly rolls the plane inverted and pulls hard, making Leafa have to strain to keep her head up. That allows her to see the tracer rounds fly by the plane. Dangerously close that she feels her stomach clutch itself.

Then ' _Nite Lite'_ pitches into a different direction, followed by another. A roll and then suddenly the plane violently spins almost like a top before diving with gunfire and an explosion.

' _Oh thank God this is VR..!'_ Leafa mentally groans, feeling slightly nauseous from the sudden maneuvers as Tcat pulls out of the dive and rolls left, starting to ascend again.

 _{You ok back there?}_ the pilot asks with a chuckle.

"Doing great..!"

 _{Good! Mind checking the radar to see where that guy came from?}_ Tcat already has an eye on a bomber trailing smoke. A moment later he identifies it as an Alliance Bomber.

Then he turns it into flying debris with a well place burst, getting both himself and Leafa a bonus kill and a pair of super rare drops for destroying the false flag plane.

Leafa presses her forehead against the pad on the viewing station and checks the radar. "I don't see anything."

 _{Keep looking. They're out there somewhere.}_ Tcat knows that one escort is nothing. There has to be more. _{Got to give them points. That plane with the Nav Lights on was a warning bell for them. Going to have file a report on that and let the guys know when we land.}_

The hair on the back of Leafa's neck stands up and she glances over her left shoulder, finding nothing there. She looks over her right shoulder and catches a glimpse of the moonlight shining off the wings of a large plane, eyes widening in alarm. "Pull low right! Hurry!"

Tcat jerks the plane right and pulls inverted as the Pact fighter fires a burst where they used to be, its nose twinkling in the night as it fails to match their turn. _{Nice call!}_ He cheers, turning in on the Pact fighter. Letting out a burst, Tcat swears as the fighter weaves out of the way.

 _{Dammit! This one's not an idiot!}_

The twin-engined fighter pulls hard to the left and causes _'Nite Lite'_ to overshoot, and Tcat pulls into the vertical, climbing up above the Pact fighter. Leafa, meanwhile, feels like she's a rollercoaster… that can shoot and get blown out of the skies. She tightens her harness a little as Tcat rolls back over and dives on the slower plane. Another burst is unleashed at their opponent. Sparks appear briefly on the other fighter's right wing before the plane twists right. It rolls inverted and begins a flat spin towards the earth, the moon shining off the wings.

 _{Scratch one enemy fighter! Leafa, do you still have the enemy bomber formation on Radar?}_

"They're still heading towards Malta!"

Suddenly, the sky lights up with anti-aircraft fire, tracers streaking towards the sky with shells bursting in midair, occasionally giving the outline of a bomber for a split second.

 _{Looks like those idiots didn't do their recon!}_

"Did they just fly into the Alliance's battlefleet?" she asks, not believing it.

 _{Exactly.}_ Tcat responds to her. _{I heard the_ Texas _is in there too! Along with three_ Atlanta _-class Cruisers and AA is their thing no less.}_

A loud roar fills Leafa's ears. Looking out the cockpit, she sees a blur zoom aboves her. Following it, she sees it pull up in a steep climb.

 _{Crap! Those are ME-262's!}_

"Wha?"

 _{Nazi Germany's first jet fighters! I'm getting us out of here!}_

' _Nite Lite'_ banks left as another roar fills the ears of her crew. Another 262 dashes over them after Tcat yanks the stick right, and the pilot reverses _'Nite Lite'_ s turn just in time to see the second jet detonate in a gigantic fireball above their heads.

"What just happened!?" Leafa exclaims, looking at the debris fall out of the skies.

 _{Moron probably forgot that those engines don't like sudden throttle changes and tend to explode when going 100 to 0 too quickly. The real things did that too.}_

"Ah, I hope this plane's reliable." she says, gulping uncomfortably. Tcat chuckles confidently as he begins to maneuver _Nite Lite_ into position _._

 _{Are you kidding me? This is some good old American tech. Never breaks down when you need it!}_

"Alright," Leafa replies, wondering just how much truth was in the pilot's word.

A flash in her peripheral vision brings Leafa's attention to the dark shape of a plane diving on them, only milliseconds before she's violently thrown around by Tcat's maneuvering. The world becoming a dizzying array of lines and lights. A telling flash of gunfire lights up the night sky as suddenly as the plane leveling out.

 _{Got that Kraut bastard!}_ Tcat cheers.

"You shot him down?" Leafa asks, surprised at how quickly the tables turned.

 _{Got his right engine to flame out! If he's smart, he'll disengage. The 262's engines are fragile as hell!}_

"Um… what about the bombers?" Leafa asks.

 _{Good eye there. We'll try and nab any stragglers sulking around before heading back to base. Got anything on radar?}_

Looking at her display again, she sees scattered blips that are converging towards a point in the southern part of her screen.

"I think they're trying form up around uh…. I think the map says EV77," Leafa says with uncertainty as she tries to read the map in the moonlight.

 _{Well, that's right on the edge of our patrol area. Unless we get an invitation to pursue them into another fighter's patrol area, we shouldn't follow them.}_

"Patrol area?"

 _{Yeah, us flyboys like to have our own hunting grounds for our squadrons so that we don't end up killing each other off. Best call it a night for now.}_

 _{We could try.}_ Leafa hear Tcat admits. _{But I'm looking at ammo and fuel and neither are looking good.}_

"Oh," Leafa responds sadly.

 _{This is Charlie Six-Two can anyone hear me!}_ a new voice comes in over the radio, startling both.

 _{Charlie Six-Two, Nickel Five-Five, what's your situation.}_ Leafa tilts her head, hoping to see peer up and see Tcat's expression.

 _{Thank god! Tcat! It's Skip! We were doing Night Recon and got bounced by 262s! We fought them off, but we're mauled and lost. You got to be near us if you can hear us!}_

Leafa is already looking at her radar and she spots a contact at the edge of her radar cone, moving almost like a drunken bug. Immediately, Leafa relays the directions, altitude, and speed to Tcat who checks with Skip. ' _Nite Light'_ begins to bank towards the directions.

 _{That sounds like us alright! We got surface control damage. PizzadaHutt took a round as well. He's alive, but only because he had his gun between him and the enemy plane. He's unconscious though!}_ The voice is clearly panicking,

 _{We'll on the way.}_ Tcat informs Skip as Leafa concentrates on the radar, her mind going back to that one day in ALO.

" _So long as I'm around, I'll never lose a party member!"_

' _Onii-chan, I won't lose an ally. I promise,'_ Leafa thinks to herself.

Two planes appear on the radar display behind Skip's plane, and while there's pilots on the radio channel, there's no chatter from Skip.

"Skip, two planes, above and behind you!" Leafa reports, "they're diving!"

 _{Not on my watch!}_ Tcat growls loudly as Leafa feels him throttle up to full.

 **X-~-X**

"Oh man, you saved us up there, Tcat, Leafa!" Skip turns out to be a short guy about as tall as Kirito and looks something the same, "I haven't been that scared in a long time. Saw my life flash before my eyes."

There's a slight quiver in the young pilot's voice. It looks like he's haunted by something.

"You'll do okay there, Skip?" Tcat looks unnaturally worried.

The three of them are back on the ground. A medic is tending to PizzadaHutt's wounds who's still inside the battered B-26 Marauder that Skip managed to land while the rest of his crew had hopped on Jeeps to go to the nearest infirmary. The night was still long, but the bombing raid had been largely thwarted. Still, Tcat had a nagging suspicion and three patrols that had landed earlier were now heading back up.

Once Skip was taken care of, Tcat and Leafa might rejoin them.

"Yeah, yeah," Skip breathes a little too hard, "I got a doctor's appointment later. I'll speak with her about it then."

"Remember, my door is always open," Tcat states and Skip nods.

"Thanks man," Skip turns and begins to head out, "I need to get home. I got school soon enough."

"Alright, give my best to your father," Tcat waves and Skip returns it.

"I will, thanks again Tcat," and with that said, Skip started heading to the barracks to log out.

"What's that about?" Leafa asked, "You know him?"

"My uncle and his father are both in the US Government," Tcat explains, "His father's diplomatic posting had been in Japan, 2022 and… he's an SAO survivor."

Leafa didn't know what to say.

"Let's file some reports and then you can check in with your friends," Tcat says with a yawn, flagging down a jeep for a ride.

"Reports…?"

 **Authors' end notes**

 **Goodalwayswins98: Damn Air Combat's a bitch to get right when writing but we'll do our best to give you a damn good read! That's one of the things that kept this chapter back. Tomcat… thanks for the help with the air combat.**

 **That tidbit with Nguyen commenting on German cars… it's based off my family's experience with German-made Audi's. First one had a shit transmission that needed constant caretaking… the second had to be inspected on a monthly basis… at the Dealership with the exorbitant fees related to it. They also only ran on premium gas.**

 **Special thanks to Tomcat for letting us use his OC. Couldn't have made this chapter without him. - SirStonewall**

 **Next chapter: All in!**


	11. All In

**Chapter 11: All in!**

The sound of gunfire echoes across a relatively empty range as a trio of players are doing some target practice. The sun crests over the trees behind them, illuminating the slight fog hanging in the air.

"Honestly Agil, why do you even bother with target practice?" Klein asks as reloads his FG-42, "You don't really need to aim very accurately."

"Eh, it's fun to shoot my man," the black man answers with a grin, "Besides, I'm trying to improve my reload skills. Reloading this baby takes a bit of time."

"He said it," Kirito says as he fires his M2 Carbine, "I can understand why the Americans like their guns."

"Speaking of that," Klein asks, "When you were in GGO, why did you take a laser sword?"

Kirito shrugs.

"I guess I was still too used to my sword."

"Didn't Sinon try and help you with a gun?"

There's a brief silence before the teenager replies, rubbing the back of his head. "She did, but… let's not talk about that."

"Where are they anyways?" Agil remarks, noting their absence.

"Oh, girls' day out. I think they went shopping. Didn't ask too much."

"Speaking of girls, any chance one of their mothers would show up again?" Klein adds curiously.

Kirito glares at him and the not-subtle hint about Asuna's mom.

"No, her mom isn't showing up again. In her words, this game is 'barbaric' and 'uncivilized'. Asuna tried to explain her the concept of why it's fun but no success there."

His two friends burst out laughing.

"'Sup guys." a monotone voice cuts in. Turning their heads, the trio spots the familiar silhouette of Nguyen's driver.

"Hey, how are you doing Dick?" Klein asks as he raises a fist to greet.

"Fine, fine. My programming's coming along well." the man says as he stretches himself and bumps Klein's fist, "Sooo what are you guys doing?"

"Just some target practice my man," Agil answers.

"So what kind of programming do you do exactly Dick?" Kirito asks with interest.

"Working on a new software for a new game," he answered simply, "Can't say much about the game though except that it's a fun challenge to work on it."

"Hey good for you! Where's the rest of your guys?" Kirito continues.

"Lou, Roscoe and Tony are probably getting on soon," he answers, "Getting their stuff done after work."

"What about Nguyen?"'

"Well, Nguyen's doing correction. It's exam time and man has something like 80-90 students in his classes. Apparently correcting exams is a pain, something about students who need to learn how to write and how to spell check." Dick stated as he looked to the sky, "Think he's actually running on black coffee right now."

"That's bad?" Klein says perplexed, "Black coffee isn't exactly dangerous or anything."

"Nah, he's just fed up with his students. He doesn't drink coffee at all."

They're suddenly interrupted by another voice.

"Bro, _fuck_ them."

"That bad man?" Dick asks a rather morose looking Nguyen who nods.

"Some dumbass drew a barn in his copy because I didn't want blank copies while another genius answered that the Pyramids, Colosseum and Stonehenge were built by Aliens."

He raises his hands with both palms wide open before saying "Aliens" with a very serious face.

"Kids these days."

"Hell yeah, one's mom actually showed up at my office begging me not to flunk her kid because it'd ruin her chances to be a psychologist or some lame shit like that."

Klein and Kirito look at him, incredulous.

"Wait what?" Kirito asks with a raised eyebrow.

"The joys of teaching… had to call security to drag her out... anyhow," he rants before changing his tone to a warmer one, "the rest of the gang coming in soon?"

"Yeah, the girls should be home from shopping soon," Kirito answers, "Got any news from Stonewall?"

"He's been working like crazy. Dude hasn't been ingame for days," Dick shrugs, "Been getting shit done."

"He'll be online in a bit." Amy announces before she practically pounces on Klein, hugging him.

"Ah! Uagh!" Klein yelps before they both fall over.

"Gotcha again."

Nguyen snickers a bit at their antics before more familiar voices ring.

"Hey everyone!" Roscoe shouts as he finishes materializing along with Lou and Tony.

After a quick session of greetings, a familiar player stomps in and grabs a M1919A6, plopping the machinegun down on the sandbags and wordlessly feeding a 100 round belt into it before cutting loose on a target, emptying the whole belt.

"Bro? Euh you ok?" Nguyen asks, glancing at Stonewall.

The American jumps up once the belt is spent, cheering. "It's finally up!"

"Yeah!" Dick exclaims as he high-fives Stonewall, "That's fucking good news man!"

"Ow! Motherfucker!"

"Wait, an American's hurting after be highfived by a Quebecer?" Nguyen teases, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"So what's going on guys?" Kirito asks, a hand on his chin. "What's finally up?"

"After months of hard work, setbacks, and several hours of tears, the Hellbound trailer has finally been released." Stonewall announces.

"Ah yeah!" Nguyen shouts gleefully, "Su Doan 22 will fight again! Fuck you Commies!"

The player's face takes on a faraway, daydreaming look as he jumps around like a small child on Christmas morning coupled with manic laughter. The ALO players look at him with confused expressions, Klein having picked himself and his girlfriend up by now.

"What the hell's going on with him exactly?" Agil asks, slightly disturbed.

"Ah, Nguyen's been waiting on Hellbound's trailer for awhile now," Lou explains, "He wants to have a game set in the Cold War so he can 'fuck Commies up' like his dad and granddad did."

"Right, his family fought in the war," Kirito remarks before turning to Stonewall, "Think you can show us the trailer?"

"If you pull up the company website in game, it's on the home page."

Kirito quickly begins to go through his menus, opening up a web browser. After a few moments of surfing on the web, a video appears in front of him while everyone else masses around him. They all watch as perspectives switch from infantry combat, to tank combat, then to an intense dogfight between two jets amidst a thunderstorm, finally switching to a glimpse of a guided missile cruiser firing a missile before it gets grabbed from below by huge tentacles and snapped in twain. After a couple minutes, the trailer finally ends, leaving the players awestruck and hoping for more.

"AWESOME!" Nguyen exclaims loudly, "Man I can already imagine what my avatar'll look like."

His tank crew all roll their eyes at this.

"Just what we needed," Lou dryly remarks, "Now he won't shut up about it."

"Our release date is in a couple months." Stonewall explains. "Try not to get too hyped yet."

More groaning from the Canadians makes Stonewall roll his eyes as he opens the feed tray on the M1919, clearing the action.

"Yup, we're gonna have headaches for months," Tony dryly remarks, "Thanks man."

"Soo… what's our mission today bossman?" Nguyen asks, having calmed down a bit.

Stonewall grins and straightens up, rocking back on his heels for a moment before looking at everyone assembled. "I've got a question for y'all. Who here is into gambling?"

Dick cracks his knuckles.

"Sure."

"You sure that's a good idea with your luck bro?"

"I'm in!" Tony adds with a confident grin, "Cleaned house last time I did."

Stonewall chuckles and stretches a little, "Good. We're going to cassino."

"Cassino? Don't you mean a casino?" Nguyen remarks with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope. Monte Cassino. Get your kit and let's get a move on. The battle's not gonna wait for us."

Nguyen throws a quick glance at Kirito.

"Aren't you guys missing a few of your crew?"

Kirito nods.

"Yeah the girls are out shopping but they'll be on later."

"Joy…At least you're not stuck lugging their bags," Nguyen shudders knowingly, "Or being annoyed to get you to buy the latest dumb fashion trend."

"This'll give us some time to go cruising for another crew member. Aria has decided she wants to join y'all as infantry. Now I gotta go shopping for another gunner." Stonewall says nonchalantly, "So I'm gonna swing by the Lulworth firing range and see if I can pick someone up. In the meantime, y'all chill here."

"Yo, anyone up for some cards?" Dick suggests, producing a deck from his inventory, "Could kill some time till everyone shows up."

"You betcha!" Klein exclaims, grinning side to side, "Prepare to lose your requisition points!"

"You sure you wanna play cards Dick?" Tony asks evilily, "Last time I remember kicking your ass bro."

"It's always an easy win against Dick," Nguyen remarks as he stretches himself and spawns a canteen and ration pack, "Have fun guys."

The friends begin to play a game of cards. Much to his annoyance, Dick keeps losing match after match.

"Ah fuck you!"

"So what other games did you guys play before getting here?" Kirito asks, trying to change the mood, "You guys look like you've been playing for a long time."

"Good lord," Dick grunts, "A long time you say? I think you weren't born yet that I was already playing video games."

"Man… the memories," Nguyen sighs nostalgically, "I saw so many franchises go up and go down. I still remember meeting Dick cause I was talking about Age of Empires III in my history class. Shame that franchise went down."

"I still remember that LAN party we did at my old place," Roscoe remembers.

"Yeah, we totally owned Nguyen's ass." Tony smirks, "Fun times."

"Fuck you man, that's because I didn't have my custom decks of doom."

The entire tank crew chuckles as Stonewall's tank destroyer rumbles past, driving into the teleporter before disappearing.

"Did you guys play any MMO's together though?" Kirito asks, "You look like the type of guys who enjoy that stuff."

"Not really," Dick answers, "I'm more of a single-player RPG guy. Nguyen did try and get us into a few MMO's and Roscoe did try and do group sessions of ARMA III back in the days."

"How did those play out?"

"Nguyen tried to get us into pay to wins," Tony explains, grinning evilly, "Roscoe and ARMA III were fun times except for when Nguyen's brother blew shit for the sake of blowing shit up."

"Urgh, don't remind me," Roscoe groans, "I had to remove satchel charges for all our games because of that idiot."

"Refresh my memory… but did he fucking blew up George Clooney in one of your games?" Nguyen asks knowingly.

"Oh my god yes."

"That has to be an interesting story," Klein remarks with a grin as he gets himself comfortable and lights himself a cigarette.

"More like weaponized autism."

 **Lulworth firing range**

 **Dorset, England.**

"I don't need a driver, I need a gunner." Stonewall insists.

After twenty minutes of searching, his patience is starting to wear thin with some of the newer players. Many keep following him around, asking him the same question they'd asked a half dozen times before. So far, it seems like any experienced gunners were taken, or at least not practicing at the range.

Until, finally, the American strikes gold.

"I uh… heard you were looking for a gunner?"

The somewhat timid voice shakes Stonewall from his slowly boiling frustration nearly instantly, his head turning to the source. A short player stands by a 57mm anti-tank gun, his black fatigues and MP-40 looking like he belongs in a panzer on the front line, instead of on the range.

"As a matter of fact I am. Interested?" The redhead asks, turning to face him.

"Sure! Lead the way boss-man."

Stonewall smiles and nods, waving the player along. "What's your username?"

"DuskfallBreeze. You?"

"SirStonewall, or just Stonewall. Mind if I call you Dusk?" The Dev replies as he climbs up onto the front slope of his tank destroyer, offering a hand up.

"Not at all. Go right ahead." Dusk accepts the help and climbs up to the turret, dropping into the crew compartment with a quiet grunt.

"Without further delay, climb in your seat and we'll send some rounds downrange." Stonewall instructs, standing on the commander's seat.

"Right."

Dusk maneuvers himself into the gunner's seat and sits down, just as Stonewall teleports his NPC loader into the loader's position.

"Loader, AP! Gunner. Target, tank!"

 **X-X**

 **War-Torn**

 **Naples, Italy**

 **2 hours later.**

"Fucking… fuck." Stonewall grumbles, lighting a cigarette as _Warbreaker II_ cruises through the shattered streets of Naples. Supply trucks of all sorts line the streets and make maneuvering an unnerving affair until finally the tank destroyer rumbles into a tree grove with several tanks and a tent inside. He quickly orders the driver to park under a tree and hops off, wandering over to the tent while DuskfallBreeze scrambles to catch up.

"Alright motherfuckers! Who's ready to kill shit?!" Stonewall snarls, batting aside the tent flap and stalking inside.

"Let's kick ass!" Nguyen answers, faking a southern accent, "Ow! Fuck you Lou!"

The sound of a slap echoes in the tent.

''Love you too bro,'' the burly tanker chuckles before blowing a kiss.

"Dumbass."

The Canadian tanks had already made themselves comfortable as they were installed in various chairs except for Roscoe who's leaning on one of the tent posts. Tony enjoys a quick smoke.

"What's the plan Stonewall?" the gunner asks seriously.

"The plan is, we are the center prong of a three pronged attack. We will move out in thirty minutes, moving at best speed to our staging area. From there, we'll advance up the road towards Monte Cassino, taking out at least two identified strongpoints along the way." Stonewall instructs, pointing out two areas circled in red on the map.

"Alrighty, what are we facing man?" Nguyen asks

"Entrenched infantry and anti-tank guns. Possibly some tanks."

"Lovely… they got any 88's?"

"Most likely. You know how players are. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious."

"Hmm, indeed. What about air support?" Roscoe asks as he looks over the map, "They got any AA or planes operating out there?"

"Weather should keep their planes grounded but not ours," Stonewall says, "Storm's hitting their airfields."

"Tcat's planes'll be there?" Leafa asks curiously.

"Said his squadron'll be flying bombing runs for us," Nguyen replies before noticing the player next to Stonewall, "Who's the new guy? Name's Nguyen by the way. Sorry about not noticing you."

"It's okay. I'm DuskfallBreeze. Just Dusk or Duskfall works. I'm Stonewall's gunner." The new tanker replies, shaking Nguyen's hand.

Some of the people in the tent give Stonewall some questioning looks, to which he replies, "I'll talk about it later. Everyone go and get topped up on ammo and supplies."

 **X-X-X**

"Everyone loaded up?" Nguyen asks as he climbs up on his tank.

"Got some more det packs!" Liz says enthusiastically while Klein cracks his knuckles with a grin on his face before raising a thumb.

"I'll try and sneak in," Sinon calmly suggests, "and take out anyone valuable."

"Try and knock out their comms," Kirito proposes, "That way they can't call for help."

"Or artillery," Nguyen shudders as Sinon nods and exits the tent, "How's your medical supplies looking Asuna?"

"All good," the medic answers.

"Grab some extra bandages and morphine. You're probably gonna be busy today." Stonewall instructs.

"Who wants a ride?" Nguyen asks as Dick and Lou start _'La Montréalaise'_ sengines.

"Hey Liz! You gonna drive or what?!" Stonewall yells, waving her over to _Warbreaker II_.

"We're coming Nguyen!" Klein exclaims as he and Agil make their way to the Canadian tank.

"Uh…" Duskfall looks around at the bustle of activity before a masked trooper grabs him by the shirt and starts dragging him towards _Warbreaker_ , M1 Garand in hand.

"Come on kid, get in your station."

"Who the hell are you?!" Nguyen shouts at the newcomer.

The tall, lithe figure pulls down the mask on her face and smiles, letting her long brunette hair fall down past her shoulders. "It's just me, I don't have my flamethrower for once."

"Don't wanna get barbecued?"

"Not today. I'm feeling hot enough as it is." she replies with a giggle and a wink.

"Oh. Hey Amy!" Stonewall calls out, waving at her. "Come to get shot at?"

"On second thought, I'll ride with Stonewall," Klein quickly says as he leaps off Nguyen's tank.

"Sure bro… go ride with your girlfriend!" Nguyen winks, "You still with us Agil?"

"Sure man," the machinegunner replies, "Who else wants to come?"

Leafa and Silica make their way to the Canadian tank.

"Us!" Leafa exclaims as the girls reach the back of the tank before Agil helps them get on board.

Around them, other tank crews start mounting up, infantry climbing onto tanks or into the backs of trucks, a confident and dedicated vibe to the air.

The sound of rattling tracks signals the start of the advance as _Warbreaker_ takes the lead of the column with _La Montréalaise_ following behind it.

 _{Baker elements, comms check.}_ Stonewall grumbles through the radio, looking back at the column over the heads of Amy, Klein, Asuna, and Kirito.

 _{Baker One-Two. Loud and Clear!}_ Nguyen replies with a grin.

 _{So… I'm sure you're wondering why I have a new gunner…}_

 _{Da fuck is up with that man? What happened to Aria?}_

There's a noticeable sigh over the radio, _{Aria broke up with me. She packed up all her shit and left.}_

 _{... WHAT THE FUCK?!}_ Nguyen shouts into the radio, surprising his crew and passengers. _{Like wha?!}_

 _{Yeah, surprised me too. She packed up all her shit while I was at the office working on Hellbound, and left a note and the engagement ring…}_

 _{Shit… you ok big?}_

 _{Yeah I'll be okay. Just… pissed off.}_

 _{Right...}_

"What happened?" Agil asks, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Freakin' Aria just fuckin' ditched Stonewall randomly man."

Leafa and Silica both gasp, their faces marked with shock. Dick merely grunts in disgust while Lou's jaw drops before he covers it with his hand.

"No way," the blonde girl says quietly.

"Yeah… Not gonna press the man for details but she packed up and left him there." Nguyen awkwardly explains.

"It's probably best to give him some space for now…" Agil agrees, nodding gently.

"Yeah. Enjoying the ride?" Nguyen asks as Tony opens up his hatch.

"Man that's fucking bullshit. Poor guy," the loader comments.

"Yeah," Roscoe says from the gunner's station, "We're not pushing him though."

"Aye. Soo… enjoying the view?" Nguyen asks again.

"Yeah, it feels just like Japan," Silica says as she looks around her, "The hills and forest remind me of some places there."

"Really? Nice."

"Is it this muddy in Japan?" Dick suddenly asks as the tank slogs through mud, "Cause the fucking mud's slowing us down tabarnak."

"Doubt it. Italy was known for having shit roads back then," Nguyen remarks. The driver scoffs.

"At least Mussolini got the trains running on time."

Nguyen chuckles a bit.

"Aren't you worried we're gonna get stuck?" Leafa asks as she looks at the muddied road.

"Nah, we'll be fine unless it starts raining big time," Tony says.

"Don't jinx it," the commander says hastily.

Meanwhile the conversation on _Warbreaker_ changes to another subject.

"So what's the deal? No flamethrower?" Stonewall asks Amy, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I wanted to change things up a bit." The brunette replies with a shrug.

"There's more to it than that. I know you too well." Stonewall scowls.

Amy just grins and shrugs, leaning back against Klein.

"Hey a girl can use the weapons she wants no?" the former samurai casually says, "Right Amy?"

"Mmhm!" She smiles and nods, resting her head on his shoulder after taking her helmet off.

"So how did you end up as Stonewall's gunner Duskfall?" Kirito asks the new player.

"Well, he showed up at Lulworth gunnery range asking for a gunner. I was the only gunner there apparently."

"Is this the first time as a gunner on a tank?" Asuna adds kindly.

"No, I spent some time on heavier tanks, but this is my first time in an American tank destroyer." He says shyly.

"What tanks did you ride on before?" Klein asks.

"Uh… well, a Jagdpanther… Panzer IV… King tiger… mostly German tanks…"

Kirito's eyebrow rises suddenly.

"Stonewall, remember that tank we took out after that region boss in France?"

"The Panzer III? How can I forget?" Stonewall chuckles.

"Did you ever ride on a Panzer III?" Kirito asks Duskfall.

"No, why?"

"Do you do the honors Stonewall?"

"Heheh… so, back when our group was still kinda fresh to working together…."

 **X-X-X**

"Everyone off!" Nguyen shouts as explosions resonate nearby, "We're in enemy territory now!"

The infantry players leap off the rear of the tanks and other transports, only to land knee deep into a muddy field.

"Thanks for the ride!" Kirito shouts at Stonewall who raises a thumb.

 _{Baker One-Two to Baker One-One… you see anything out there?!}_ Nguyen shouts into the handset while scanning the horizon with his binoculars.

 _{Negative One-Two, but I have a feeling we're being watched. Eyes open.}_

"So how you been Klein? Sorry I wasn't online for awhile." Amy asks the ex-samurai with a smile.

"It's alright. I've been pretty good." He replies happily, giving her a sideways hug before they both jog to keep pace with the advancing tanks.

"So, has Stonewall told you about his plans?" Amy asks.

"No?" Klein asks, "What are you talking about?"

"He's gonna be going to Japan soon. He's got an extra ticket…. I'm considering going with him."

"Wha?" The ex-samurai's jaw almost drops in surprise as he processes the information. "Really Amy? You sure you can do this? I mean..."

"Yeah…. I think I can…. I'd hate to see the money go to waste…" She replies nervously, looking down at her feet for a moment before she looks at Klein. "And it means I'll be able to meet you in person."

Klein can't find his words for a moment before he finally blubbers something.

Amy opens her mouth to respond, but she's interrupted by a shriek of a shell passing close overhead. The rest of the infantry players hit the deck as a nearby explosion shakes the ground near one of the tanks. Nguyen quickly raises his body from the cupola, glancing around.

"Everyone al-"

Another shriek pierces the air before Nguyen's body suddenly collapses inside his tank. The Sherman suddenly stops as players begin firing on the hillside and tracers appear from the treeline.

"Nguyen's been hit!" Asuna exclaims as she quickly picks herself off the ground and rushes over to ' _La Montréalaise'_ , "I'll go check on him!"

She quickly leaps up the rear of the tank before peering into the opened hatch and sees an empty chair.

"Yeah Asuna, we won't need your help," Roscoe says nonchalantly as he looks up from his gunner's seat, "Nguyen took a shell to the head so you can't really help him."

"It's an improvement if you ask me," Tony quips with a shit eating grin.

"Oh come on… the real one would be better without his head," Lou laughs, "Shows this is a game."

She rolls her eyes at the crew's banter, sighing at their foolishness.

"Get yourselves out of here Asuna!" Roscoe orders, "No point in you being exposed up here!"

The medic swiftly jumps of the tank before running back to Kirito while the Canadian tank begins moving again, its hull turning to face the source of the enemy fire. Suddenly, another explosion resonates, this time accompanied by a flash of light on _'La Montréalaise'._

"Son of a bitch!" Stonewall yells, grabbing the commander's override handle and traversing the turret to face the culprit. "Baker One-Two, status!"

 _{Fuck!-Tank's- fucked up-Can't move!}_

"Get outta there!" Stonewall orders as Duskfall elevates the gun, finally acquiring the anti-tank gun in the hilltop position. _Warbreaker_ II's 90mm gun thunders once, silencing the immediate threat.

"Bail out! Lou, Dick! You guys still there!?" Roscoe shouts into the lower part of the tank while Tony pulls himself out of the tank. He suddenly hears some groaning and cursing.

"Fucking shit! I'm hit but I can get out!" Dick barks back as he pops open the driver's hatch with a groan, "Fucking Lou's unconscious though! Think you can help me get his fucking fatass out?!"

"On it!" Tony yells back as he rushes to the front of the smoking tank. At the same time, Dick slides down the front hull, landing almost face first in the mud.

"Cover us Stonewall! We're getting out!" Roscoe calls over the radio before jumping out as well.

Tony opens up the hatch above an unconscious Lou.

"Fuck why the hell did you have to be so fucking heavy," Tony mutters as he tries to pull out the heavyweight assistant driver/bow gunner, "Yo, can someone help me!"

"On it!" Roscoe exclaims as he rushes to his friend's aid.

"We'll cover you Asuna!" Leafa shouts as she and Silica open fire.

"Go help them!" the smaller player yells.

At the same time, Asuna runs over to Dick who's holding his side as he runs away from the crippled tank.

Klein and Amy move to suppress the hilltop position together, the latter bounding up onto _Warbreaker II_ and grabbing the .50 caliber mounted on the rear of the turret, spraying up at the entrenched position with a grin on her face.

"AH! Fuck shit piss goddamniiit!" Stonewall yells as he starts trying to shake hot brass out of his coveralls, grabbing at the collar and moving away from the rear of the turret. "That fucking burns!"

"You ok there man?!" Duskfall asks, looking from his gunner sight.

"What's going on back there?!" Liz yells as she continues crawling _Warbreaker II_ along the muddy road.

"Just a bit of hot brass down the shirt!" Stonewall yells back, finally grabbing the casing and throwing it aside.

Meanwhile, Agil and Kirito rush over to Tony and Roscoe while Leafa and Silica open fire, buying them time and covering them. The two Canadians are dragging an unconscious Lou behind them followed by Asuna and Dick.

"We'll get him to cover and then Asuna can patch everyone up!" Roscoe barks. Kirito nods while Agil replaces Tony.

"I think we can get him to that ditch over there." Kirito points at a nearby ditch on the side of the road

"Let's go!"

The whistling sound of mortars and machine gun fire echo in the valley around them. The other players scatter, all semblance of order gone in the chaos of battle with some hiding in nearby ditches or behind any cover they find. Others are cut down mercilessly by their opponents. _'La Montréalaise'_ suddenly explodes as the gang make it to a ditch..

"Shit… good thing we got out in time!" Tony remarks with a whistle as he peeks over the ditch.

"Dusk! Adjust left! There's a fucking mortar!" Stonewall orders before there's a terrible shriek of metal on metal, and _Warbreaker II_ starts to turn. "Liz stop! We lost a track!"

"Right!" Liz says before cutting power to the tracks, "We're sitting ducks right now!"

Stonewall peeks up above the edge of the turret and grabs his commander's override. "Fuck the mortar! Tiger, four hundred yards! Load AP!"

The breech slams into place as the AI loader finishes loading the man gun.

"On the way!" Duskfall shouts as he stomps on the foot trigger, the gun recoiling in its mount and slinging the empty case back into the turret with a hollow clang. The shot misses the Tiger as Amy jumps off the tank and grabs Klein, shoving him into a nearby ditch before jumping in with him, yelling, "Let the tanks duke it out while we move up!"

"Reload! C'mon!" Stonewall yells at the AI loader, who grabs an AP round and slams it into the breech.

"Ready up!"

"Don't fuck it up! FIRE!" Stonewall yells at Duskfall prior to _Warbreaker_ taking a direct hit to the front hull. Sparks shower everywhere before _Warbreaker_ detonates, blasting the turret off the hull in a gigantic fireball and breaking the hull along the welds. The turret comes crashing down onto the road behind the derelict wreck and splatters mud everywhere while shrapnel hits some unfortunate players.

"LIZ!" Asuna shouts with horror as she looks at the burning hulk. Shocked expression appear on Leafa and Silica's faces.

"There's no way anyone could have survived that." Leafa says with shock.

"Whoa shit," Dick says almost casually, "That ended well."

"So anyone have a plan?" Klein suddenly asks.

"Take cover! Stay low and move often! Let's keep moving forward!" Amy yells, taking command after looking at the piles of twisted, burning metal. "Does anyone have a radio?"

"Yeah, I got one!" Roscoe says as he produces his radio, "It's still fully charged too. Who do you want me to contact?"

"Try to get Tcat and tell him we need bombing runs!"

"On it!" Roscoe says before turning on the radio and switching to the right frequency. "This is Baker One-One to Nickel Five-Five!"

 _{Baker One-One, this is Nickel Five-Five, send it.}_ a familiar voice answers.

"Nickel Five-Five, we need a bombing run at Quebec Zulu one-three-three! Target is a hostile tank on the road!" Roscoe yells as a burst of machinegun fire passes close overhead.

 _{Roger that. We are coming in hot! Hang in there!}_

"Can't he get here any faster!?" Klein shouts, irritated at being pinned.

"He's probably still high up!" Leafa yells back, "Just stay calm!"

Kirito gives his sister a thumbs up and peeks out of the ditch, only to be discouraged from doing so by a burst of fire hitting the mud in front of him.

"What's your ETA Nickel Five-Five?! We're gonna be fucking dying down here!" the tank gunner shouts frantically into the radio as a nearby explosion throws mud all over them.

 _{Baker One-One… ETA is one minute.}_

"Oh fuck there's more behind that Tiger!" Amy yells.

"What do you mean more?!" Tony shouts back as he blindly fires his Grease gun over the ditch's edge.

"More tanks!"

The droning sound of propellers fill the ground players' ears as Nite Lite swoops in through the thin cloud layer, flanked by two other P-38's. Their guns chattering as they rake the tanks with bullets and rockets, scoring several direct hits and breaking away before three B-26 Marauders swoop in, delivering a generous payload of 8 500lb bombs each. Explosions rock the ground as they impact along the column, sending mud, flame, and steel skywards.

"Heads down!" Amy yells as the debris comes back to earth, mud splattering like rain all over their uniforms.

"Did they get them all?" Silica says as she pokes her head over the ditch, "It looks li-GAH!"

A round hits the ground in front of the small player, showering mud all over her head. Agil quickly yanks her down.

"Be careful ok?"

"R-right!"

"Is everyone okay?!" Amy yells, looking back at everyone.

Tracer fire lights up the skies as the Pact players and NPC's open fire with their anti-aircraft guns, hoping to shield themselves from the wrath of the Alliance air forces. A terrible howling fills the air as a B-26 loses its wing and starts to plummet from the sky, disappearing over a hill. Another struggles to gain altitude, smoke spewing from its right engine.

 _{We've gotta break off, this flak is getting too thick for my liking!}_ Tcat reports over the radio as he and his wingmen weave through the enemy fire.

"Roger that!" Roscoe replies, "Stay safe man!"

"This is a fucking mess!" Lou exclaims as he tries to make sense of the situation.

"But it's our mess, so let's clean it up!" Amy growls, running along the length of the ditch with Klein following right behind her. Bullets whistle uncomfortably close to them, kicking up mud and dirt.

"I think we should try and meet up with the rest of the players!" Kirito proposes, "Maybe we can then launch an assault on their positions?"

"They're all behind us, and she's moving forward." Tony points out, "I don't think we need those slowpokes anyways!"

"Follow the crazy lady!" Lou chuckles after he wakes up, getting up and running after them.

"Keep up Klein!" Amy yells over her shoulder, sprinting along the ditch before a Pact player clad in tanker coveralls jumps out of a bomb crater and tackles her, the two going sprawling in the mud before they start wrestling. Klein tries to draw a bead on the hostile player, but Amy rolls on top of the Pact player and swiftly yanks her bayonet out of its scabbard, stabbing him multiple times in the chest and neck. Once he disappears, the mud-plastered girl gets up and retrieves her rifle, putting her bayonet back in the scabbard before grinning wildly at Klein, wiping mud off her face.

"You never cease to amaze me Amy." Klein laughs as a shotgun blast goes off.

"Take that motherfucker!" Dick yells as he unleashes another shot into an Pact player. Meanwhile, Leafa clubs a player with her Garand, knocking down an unfortunate rifleman while Agil mows down a trio of players who tried to charge them. Kirito and Asuna blast away at the enemy, watching each other's backs.. He suddenly notices a player emerging from a foxhole with a bundled grenade. Suddenly, the player stumbles backwards, hit by a bullet he never saw coming followed by panicked shouting from the hole. Two other players scramble out of the foxhole before the grenade goes off, catching both in the blast radius and sending one tumbling while killing the other outright.

"Was that Sinon?!" Silica exclaims as she takes down a much larger player with a lucky shot.

"Wouldn't be surprised!" Kirito shouts back, "She always knows how to pick her targets."

By now, the rest of the infantry begins to catch up with them and slowly push back the retreating Pact players into the treelines.

"Be careful everyone!" Asuna instructs, "Silica, keep an eye for traps with Pina."

"Will do!"

What was once a verdant forest was now nothing more than destroyed woodland. Broken trees and logs litter the ground while burnt out craters scar the ground. Smoke rises from small fires and embers left over by the recent bombing run.

"Looks like Tcat did a good job with his last run," Leafa remarks as they walk pass a ruined anti-tank position.

"Think this is the guy that got our tank?" Lou asks, looking at the broken remains of a PAK 40.

"Who cares? Fucking guy's dead." Dick replies, his shotgun trained at a hole in the ground, "No one inside this foxhole."

Gunfire suddenly echoes in the distance to the South followed by explosions.

"Looks like someone's shooting someone," Agil remarks dryly.

"Everyone's getting a slice of the action today." Amy giggles darkly.

"Guess that's where we're heading next," Roscoe states as he looks over to the source of the explosion.

"Not quite. We're continuing down this road." Amy instructs, looking at a map. "Towards uh… San Vittore Del Lazio."

"Enemy strongpoint right there right?"

"That's what our intel says." Amy replies with a shrug.

"Alright."

The group keeps walking alongside other players, taking their time and letting multiple squads move ahead of them. Tanks rattle past with infantry riding on them, the clean players looking at the mud-slathered group as they pass. Eventually, two tanks rattle up to them and slow down, Rift sticking his head out of his Centurion and waving them up while Seth opens the hatch on his Firefly. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Lucky bastards," Dick mutters in annoyance as he glares, "You missed everything assholes!"

"I was having connection issues!" Rift argues. "Besides, at least now you have two fresh tanks at your disposal!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Happy to see you guys," Roscoe says, "Our tanks got shot to bits on the way here."

"Yeah, they got Stonewall and his tank. Nguyen's missing his head," Tony adds, "Think you guys can clear a path for us?"

"We'll support you guys, but if we move too far forward we risk getting taken out by infantry weapons. We'll hang back a fair bit and overwatch your advance. Call us up if anything nasty needs killing!" Rift says with a salute, ducking back down inside his Centurion.

"Thanks man!" Roscoe yells with a thumbs up.

The group slogs along through the mud towards their objective in silence for several minutes before a cacophony of explosions and gunfire ahead tears through the tense air, drawing their attention to the group that moved ahead of them. Tanks and infantry alike dive off the road into the shattered remnants of a forest as artillery and machine gun fire cut down any infantry too slow to react to the sudden contact. From his vantage point, Rift watches as a Cromwell's front hull showers sparks, the tank lurching and slowly veering into a ditch, carried forward by its momentum. A Stuart light tank veers off the road into the mud and slows to a halt, tracks spinning but failing to get any traction, leaving it a sitting duck. Within seconds an incoming shell strikes it on the side of the hull, detonating the ammunition inside and sending a jet of flame out the open commander's hatch. Tracers rip through the scarce underbrush and cut down infantry like a scythe to wheat, sending those lucky enough to survive diving for any cover they can find.

"Damn, how are we supposed to get through that?!" Klein exclaims as he glances over the enemy's defenses.

"Yo, Roscoe, think you can call in air support?" Kirito asks, looking at the tank gunner who nods.

"Yeah gimme two seconds." he answers as he begins talking into his radio.

 _{We're a little busy up here, sorry!}_

"FUCK!" Roscoe shouted, "Air can't do shit for us!"

"We need a new plan," Agil says, "Think we can maybe flank them?"

"We're pretty well bottled into this area unless we want to do some climbing…" Amy sighs.

Kirito scans over the position, trying to find a weakness.

"Hmm, do you think we can use some smoke to cover us," He suggests, "If we can hide our movements and attack, we might have a chance."

"We've got a few rounds of White Phosphorous!" Rift yells over the explosions and gunfire.

"Think you can find a good target for them?" Asuna asks with Rift nodding.

"If I can put the rounds into their positions and blind them, that should enable you guys to move up on them."

"Right!" Kirito says

"Andrew!" Rift calls down into his hatch. "Ready all of our Willy Pete!"

After a few moments, the Centurion fires and instants later, white smoke starts to cover the enemy's position followed by screaming. A few more shots thicken the smoke cloud and silences the enemy's weapons. Across the kill zone, infantry players jump up and sprint forward, Amy joining them and yelling at the others, "Forward! Let's get 'em!"

"LET'S GO GET THE BASTARDS!" another one roars as everyone charges forward. Very soon, they land inside the enemy's mud filled trenches, bayonets fixed. Kirito draws his sword as he unequips his carbine and hacks through a stunned player. Not far from there, Dick slam fires his trench gun, clearing a section of trench almost instantly while Tony covers his six o'clock.

"Nerf that sh-" one of Dick's victims croaks out before disappearing in a flurry of pixels. Asuna, Leafa and Silica are next to the entrance of a small pillbox. The dragon tamer takes a quick glance at Pina who growls, confirming that the enemy is still inside. Leafa throws in a grenade which detonates. With a blur, Asuna is inside, her Thompson blazing away at any silhouette she sees, followed by Leafa and Silica. Pixels rise from the enemy's position.

"Clear!" Asuna shouts as they swiftly exit bullet-riddled pillbox.

"Get on line!" Amy yells, firing her Garand at a fleeing Pact player. "Secure the perimeter!"

Kirito nods and waves for Asuna to meet up with him with Leafa and Silica.

"Baker Two-Three, move up." Roscoe orders while Tony and Dick clamber over the top of the trench.

 _{Copy that.}_ Rift replies, the Centurion starting to move up.

"We're all clear over here!" Lou shouts, standing next to an abandoned PAK 36.

"I'll see if I can't find any enemy radios lying around," Kirito says as he and Asuna search a trench.

"Agil! Set up over here!" Amy yells at the machinegunner.

"You got it boss-lady!"

"Asuna! We got wounded over here!" Silica shouts standing by a couple Alliance players.

"Coming!"

 **And there's part one of our march towards Monte Cassino. I do hope you all enjoyed. Sorry for the wait. - SirStonewall**

 **Terribly sorry for the long wait… real life and other projects got in the way… hope you guys and gals enjoy this. - Goodalwayswins98**


End file.
